Continuous Ignition
28th Jun 2002, 09:32
Just one word... Unbelievable!
Top airport officials nearly arrested in spat
By Tim Barker | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted June 28, 2002
After hearing rumors that the federal Transportation Security Administration had quietly set up shop over the weekend at Orlando International Airport, executive director Bill Jennings decided to have a look at the operation Monday.
He almost got arrested for it.
Jennings and a pair of top airport officials, all wearing airport badges, were confronted by a security guard as soon as they entered the fourth floor of the terminal-top parking garage. That's where TSA contractor NCS Pearson had set up a hiring center for airport screeners -- without telling the airport about it.
Despite the trio's efforts to identify themselves, the guard insisted the garage was under federal jurisdiction and demanded they leave the area, going so far as to summon a pair of Orlando police officers.
And while the encounter was diffused without Jennings being led away in cuffs, it has done nothing to ease an increasingly tense relationship between the TSA and the airports it is charged with protecting. The agency must hire as many as 72,000 screeners by year's end.
A TSA spokeswoman said the incident is being investigated and that the agency will do a better job in the future of notifying airports when it plans to use their facilities.
"Clearly we regret that something like this occurred," spokeswoman Heather Rosenker said.
The TSA was created in the aftermath of Sept. 11 to take over security duties at the nation's 429 commercial airports.
Jennings said he is less concerned about the communication failure than he is about his treatment -- and what he considers an unrepentant attitude on the part of NCS Pearson.
"For me, as director of this airport, it was a personal embarrassment," Jennings said. "And if that's any indication of how they will treat potential applicants, that's a very serious matter."
Jennings said he has heard nothing from NCS Pearson. The company did not return phone calls.
There have, however, been rumblings around the airport that the company's employees have been boasting about how close they came to having Jennings arrested.
The reason for that is pretty simple, said Bob Raffel, the airport's senior director of public safety, who was with Jennings during the incident.
"They don't think they made a mistake," Raffel said.
Tim Barker can be reached at [email protected] or 407-420-5022.
www.orlandosentinel.com/business/nationworld/orl-bizoia28062802jun28.story?coll=orl%2Dbusiness%2Dheadlines (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/nationworld/orl-bizoia28062802jun28.story?coll=orl%2Dbusiness%2Dheadlines)
Top airport officials nearly arrested in spat
By Tim Barker | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted June 28, 2002
After hearing rumors that the federal Transportation Security Administration had quietly set up shop over the weekend at Orlando International Airport, executive director Bill Jennings decided to have a look at the operation Monday.
He almost got arrested for it.
Jennings and a pair of top airport officials, all wearing airport badges, were confronted by a security guard as soon as they entered the fourth floor of the terminal-top parking garage. That's where TSA contractor NCS Pearson had set up a hiring center for airport screeners -- without telling the airport about it.
Despite the trio's efforts to identify themselves, the guard insisted the garage was under federal jurisdiction and demanded they leave the area, going so far as to summon a pair of Orlando police officers.
And while the encounter was diffused without Jennings being led away in cuffs, it has done nothing to ease an increasingly tense relationship between the TSA and the airports it is charged with protecting. The agency must hire as many as 72,000 screeners by year's end.
A TSA spokeswoman said the incident is being investigated and that the agency will do a better job in the future of notifying airports when it plans to use their facilities.
"Clearly we regret that something like this occurred," spokeswoman Heather Rosenker said.
The TSA was created in the aftermath of Sept. 11 to take over security duties at the nation's 429 commercial airports.
Jennings said he is less concerned about the communication failure than he is about his treatment -- and what he considers an unrepentant attitude on the part of NCS Pearson.
"For me, as director of this airport, it was a personal embarrassment," Jennings said. "And if that's any indication of how they will treat potential applicants, that's a very serious matter."
Jennings said he has heard nothing from NCS Pearson. The company did not return phone calls.
There have, however, been rumblings around the airport that the company's employees have been boasting about how close they came to having Jennings arrested.
The reason for that is pretty simple, said Bob Raffel, the airport's senior director of public safety, who was with Jennings during the incident.
"They don't think they made a mistake," Raffel said.
Tim Barker can be reached at [email protected] or 407-420-5022.
www.orlandosentinel.com/business/nationworld/orl-bizoia28062802jun28.story?coll=orl%2Dbusiness%2Dheadlines (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/nationworld/orl-bizoia28062802jun28.story?coll=orl%2Dbusiness%2Dheadlines)