With the holiday travel season fast approaching, the Dane County Airport has met a congressional mandate set for today that orders commercial airports to use federal security screeners to inspect oncoming passengers.
Though the deadline was today, the airport has had federal screeners in place for several months, according to Dane County Airport Deputy Director Rod McLain, who added that federal employees should improve security without increasing passengers' waiting time.
\I think we're going to be much better,"" McLain said. ""It's working very well here.""
Dane County is one of 429 commercial airports across the United States to have met the deadline, which is part of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act created one year ago as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks.
""Today every checkpoint at every airport is staffed by the best trained, most consistently professional screening force in aviation history,"" said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta in a statement.
UW-Madison senior Angela Hewitt flew out of Dane County last Tuesday and experienced first hand the effects of the new security officials.
""I had a cardboard box that I was trying to carry on. They specifically asked me some questions about what was in the box and I had to walk through the metal detector,"" she said.
Hewitt, who has flown before, noticed some difference in the screening process.
""[They were] more thorough. They verbally asked me questions rather than just sending it through the x-ray machine,"" she said.
Hewitt said she didn't notice any difference in the time waiting in line, and based on her recent experience, she also doesn't foresee the new security force having any effect on holiday travel.
Dane County Airport will increase personnel for the holiday season, to help prevent delays.
""We have set up two security lines through our main security checkpoint, which keeps us better greased,"" McLain said.
According to McLain, the federal screeners at Dane County Airport have several duties. They are responsible for seeing a present-flight boarding pass for each passenger. If a person sets the alarm off in the walk-through metal detector, they must be searched with a hand wand. Finally, upon arriving at their boarding gate, federal employees will conduct random searches on passengers.
""The screeners are supposed to ensure that there are no objects or individuals that pass the checkpoint that could do harm to the general public,"" Transportation Security Administration Spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan said.
