[Infowarrior] - TSA's latest doozie in Newark

[Richard Forno]

Feb 18, 2010 6:10 pm US/Eastern

Frustration Mounts After Latest Newark Breach

TSA: Agent Flagged Wrong Passenger For Rescreening, But Person In Question With Carry-On Was Never Found

http://wcbstv.com/local/newark.airport.security.2.1502898.html

Marcia Kramer
NEWARK (CBS) ―

Parts of Newark Liberty International Airport were closed again this week due to a security breach, the second security snafu in six weeks. 

It was calm at Newark on Thursday, but that definitely wasn't the case Monday when a security breach forced the closure of parts of Terminal A for over an hour. 

The reason for the security breach was a real doozy -- a passenger was flagged for having suspicious objects in his carry-on bag but a Transportation Security Administration spokesman said that agents stopped the wrong passenger for rescreening and the passenger with the suspicious objects got away. 

When agents couldn't find the passenger after shutting down the operations for an hour they went to all gate areas to screen passengers but they never found the person. 

The problem is it was the second security breach at the airport in six weeks. On Jan. 3 a security breach caused the airport to shut down Terminal C for six hours, stranding 16,000 passengers for days and entangling flights around the world. 

"You cannot allow back-to-back major mistakes like this, security gaps like this to occur, especially such flagrant ones as this," Rep. Peter King said. 

King, the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, is especially concerned because, he said, al Qaeda terrorists are constantly on the lookout for holes in our security system. 

"It's a crisis or tragedy waiting to happen," Rep. King said. "Everything we do is being watched by al Qaeda. When they see such an easy way to breach security at Newark Airport we have to assume, we have to assume al Qaeda will try to take advantage." 

Passengers were stunned at news of the latest breach. 

"Shocking. I would expert security to be a little more tighter than that," said Edin Haya of Paterson, N.J. 

"It's a little bit concerning. I like to see people be safe and that calls into question the security procedures yet again," added Nelson Hurt of Chatham. 

This comes as the airport scored dead last in a national survey of airport customer satisfaction. One big trouble spot is poor security checks. 

A TSA spokesman said the agency is reviewing the in incident and will take appropriate action against the officer responsible for flagging the wrong passenger.