House passes bill to tighten airport worker screenings

The House passed legislation on Tuesday to enhance Transportation Security Administration screening procedures that allow workers to access secure areas of airports.

Passed by voice vote, the bill would require the TSA to develop a screening model to ensure only authorized individuals have access to secure areas.

The TSA has already been increasing random inspections for airport and airline personnel in the aftermath of recent high-profile incidents of employees taking advantage of their ability to bypass security screenings.

{mosads}Earlier this year, a federal investigation found that a Delta Airlines baggage handler was part of a gun-smuggling ring between New York and Atlanta in 2014. And in another incident, a Federal Aviation Administration employee allegedly boarded a plane to New York with a gun in his carry-on bag.

“It is the responsibility of this committee to act to prevent similar stories from continuing to emerge,” said Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), the bill’s author. “The insider threat to aviation is real and it is critical that we evolve our security standards and best practices.”

The measure further directs TSA to study the cost and feasibility of requiring all airport employee access points to include doors with card and pin entry or biometric technology, as well as surveillance video. The Government Accountability Office would then review the TSA study before reporting its findings to Congress.