[Infowarrior] - FW: Checked luggage strains security

[Richard Forno]

(c/o MS)

Checked luggage strains security

Updated 8/24/2006 10:44 AM ET

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

Air travelers are checking an unprecedented amount of luggage after
the recent disclosure of an alleged terrorist plot, an onslaught that
threatens to overwhelm bomb detectors and create security gaps, the
nation's aviation-security chief said Wednesday.

In an interview with USA TODAY, Transportation Security
Administration head Kip Hawley said there has been a 20% surge in
checked luggage at U.S. airports since liquids were banned from
carry-on bags Aug. 10.

Domestic passengers usually check almost 1 billion bags each year,
according to the Air Transport Association, an airline trade group.
The increase means that the nation's security screeners are handling
more than half a million additional checked bags each day.

The sudden increase "puts on a strain that could result in some
vulnerabilities," Hawley said. The system that screens all checked
luggage for bombs "is being stressed," he said.

...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-08-23-checked-baggage_x.htm

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