February 05, 2007

Airport security shuffle at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark

LaGuardia and JFK's non-TSA airport security was quietly replaced last week after "a disoriented elderly driver was able to evade Haynes' security perimeter and drive his car onto the tarmac at Kennedy Airport," according to amNewYork.

Covenant Aviation Security is now providing uniformed guards at perimeters, parking lots, and restricted areas, according to the paper.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will continue to handle screening of all passengers and cargo at all New York airports. However, passengers arriving from US Helicopter's Manhattan heliports are screened there by another private security company approved by the TSA. US Helicopter has been providing service from Wall Street for nearly a year and today launches airport service from the 34th Street Heliport on the East River.

Covenant isn't without its flaws, according to amNewYork, which says the company has been caught cheating on undercover tests at other airports.

Across Hudson, Newark Liberty Airport continues to struggle with its own security issues. In January, the Star-Ledger reported that the assistant security director in charge of screening resigned during "a scandal involving the leaking of test questions to candidates seeking high-level secu rity jobs at the airport."

Newark, which was the launching point for one of Sept. 11 terror teams, failed 90 percent of its security tests just this past October.

Earlier: Flight 001's hot travel gizmos outsmart TSA mess
Fast, $100 security line opens at JFK's Terminal 7
Newark Liberty Airport failed 90 pct of security tests
TSA replaces Newark Airport security chief

February 5, 2007 09:16 AM in Arrivology

®Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved