August 10, 2018 at 3:12 p.m.
Airport director relieved TSA not pulling security
Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport set to expand security area
Airport director relieved TSA not pulling security
At the time the story broke, TSA said no decision had been made on the proposal, adding that any changes "to better allocate limited taxpayer resources" would be preceded by "a risk assessment to ensure the security of the aviation system," a CNN followup story revealed.
The announcement sparked outrage from people in the airline and airport industries, said Leitner.
The pushback was so intense that by Monday CBS news reported that TSA Administrator David Pekoske had said the option, which would have saved the agency an estimated $115 million a year, was being taken off the table.
"TSA will not be eliminating passenger screening at any federalized U.S. airport as suggested in recent media reports," Pekoske told CBS News through a spokesman.
While he wasn't sure how much the TSA has invested in the security screening equipment, Leitner noted "the airport has invested heavily in their presence, (and) next year we're planning for an expansion to the secure area to include bathrooms and just more room for the passengers."
What would the elimination of the screening have meant for passengers flying out of Rhinelander?
"We wouldn't have security, and conceivably they would be flying these airplanes with unscreened passengers, what they call 'non-sterile,' to a major airport," Leitner said. "And when they got there, they'd have to be in a remote location and they would have to be bused to the main terminal and they would have to get into the (screening) queue, which at a lot of these large airports is already three or four miles long."
Leitner said the result would be missed connections, along with irate passengers and airlines alike.
"From what I can discern, this (idea) emanated from a think tank that was brainstorming on how they may save money," Leitner said. "The TSA budget, as an aggregate, is about $8 billion. So you would be removing a critical function, I think, to save $115 million. In my estimation, that would not even be an appreciable amount when you look at the context of their overall budget."
He said he is glad that the TSA has backed down from the idea.
"If it ever were to gain traction, which apparently it hasn't, we would fight it with every resource at our disposal," Leitner said. "That is to say, with our representatives in the House and Senate, at the federal, regional, state level and local level, at every level."
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at jamie@rivernews online.com.
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