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CNN Live At Daybreak

Airport Screeners Beating Deadline

Aired November 18, 2002 - 06:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's shift focus now, shall we, to airline security. New federal baggage screeners are now in place at more than 420 airports across the United States, and that, the government says, means the system is safer than ever.
CNN's Patty Davis joins us with details now from Washington.

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Federal passenger screeners are now at full force in the nation's airports some 47,000 strong. The Transportation Security Administration beating Tuesday's deadline to have them in place.

What difference will passengers see at airports? Well, Disney- style cueing lines to get passengers in order and in place. Also, if you set off a metal detector, you'll be sent to a separate line, so you don't hold up your line, and you can be wanded and your shoes examined if necessary. Also a big emphasis on customer service to make their whole process less painful.

Now, while the federal government did make this deadline to get federal passenger screeners in place, another deadline, December 31, likely some airports will not meet that to screen checked luggage with big bomb detection machines -- Congress working on a one-year extension for that.

In the meantime, though, authorities say that those airports will still have to screen all checked luggage by some method in order to make sure that terrorists' bombs don't get on board -- back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks, Patty.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired November 18, 2002 - 06:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's shift focus now, shall we, to airline security. New federal baggage screeners are now in place at more than 420 airports across the United States, and that, the government says, means the system is safer than ever.
CNN's Patty Davis joins us with details now from Washington.

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Federal passenger screeners are now at full force in the nation's airports some 47,000 strong. The Transportation Security Administration beating Tuesday's deadline to have them in place.

What difference will passengers see at airports? Well, Disney- style cueing lines to get passengers in order and in place. Also, if you set off a metal detector, you'll be sent to a separate line, so you don't hold up your line, and you can be wanded and your shoes examined if necessary. Also a big emphasis on customer service to make their whole process less painful.

Now, while the federal government did make this deadline to get federal passenger screeners in place, another deadline, December 31, likely some airports will not meet that to screen checked luggage with big bomb detection machines -- Congress working on a one-year extension for that.

In the meantime, though, authorities say that those airports will still have to screen all checked luggage by some method in order to make sure that terrorists' bombs don't get on board -- back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks, Patty.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.