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Report: Airline Security Has Holes

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By SPENCER S. HSU, The Washington Post

Published: November 15, 2007

WASHINGTON - Undercover investigators carried all the bomb components needed to cause "severe damage" to airliners and passengers through U.S. airport screening checkpoints several times this year, despite security measures adopted in August 2006 to stop such explosive devices, according to a new government report.

Agents were able to smuggle aboard a detonator, liquid explosives and liquid incendiary components costing less than $150 even though screening officers in most cases appeared to follow proper procedures and used appropriate screening technology, according to an unclassified version of a report by the Government Accountability Office, the audit arm of Congress.

The report concludes that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration needs to adopt even more stringent security measures, despite "a significant challenge in balancing security concerns with efficient passenger movement."

The report provoked sharp criticism of TSA from congressional lawmakers just days before the start of an expected record Thanksgiving holiday travel week. The House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, which requested the investigation, planned a hearing on the subject this morning.

"These findings are mind-boggling," said committee chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. "In spite of billions of dollars and the six years TSA has had to deploy new technology and procedures, our airlines remain vulnerable. This is unacceptable. The American public deserve better."

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