Random checks should be phased out at airports, TSA director says WASHINGTON (AP) =97 Random security screening of people about to board= planes=20 could be phased out next year as Transportation Security Administration=20 chief James Loy tries to make air travel less burdensome. As better-paid,=20 better-trained federal workers take over at airport security checkpoints,=20 there is less need for an additional layer of security at the gate, TSA=20 officials say. The deadline for all commercial airports to have federal=20 screeners is Nov. 19. Once all the federal screeners are in place, Loy=20 wants to start phasing out the random searches on an airport-by-airport=20 basis, TSA spokesman Robert Johnson said Monday. Paul Hudson, executive=20 director of the advocacy group Aviation Consumer Action Project, said he's= =20 alarmed by what Loy is proposing. "The best security involves multiple=20 layers, where you have backups and backups to backups," Hudson said. If the= =20 random gate screening is eliminated, "you're saying there's only one check= =20 and that's at the main security gate." A spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents major=20 airlines, said the random checks are unnecessary. "Random gate screening doesn't really add any additional measure of=20 security," Michael Wascom said via cell phone from Tampa International=20 Airport, where he was about to be screened at the gate. He said more=20 sophisticated passenger and baggage screening makes random gate screening=20 unnecessary. Loy, who became head of the TSA after his predecessor was=20 accused of ignoring passenger convenience, said he wants to balance=20 security with customer service. He has already gotten rid of the=20 requirement that passengers be asked questions about whether they have kept= =20 a close eye on their baggage. He has also decided to allow passengers to=20 carry drinks through security checkpoints. He calls the random gate=20 screenings "hassle checks." The TSA won't say how passengers are singled out for the random checks,=20 citing security concerns. Hudson, a member of the Federal Aviation=20 Administration's Aviation Security Advisory Committee, said 5% to 10% of an= =20 aircraft's passengers are screened through profiling and random checks. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (ReadyMix) http://www.readymix.co.tt/ (ReadyMix Cement Ltd) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************