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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Former El Al Security Chief Isaac Yaffet
Aired February 02, 2002 - 18:11 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Airline safety officials issue even stricter guidelines today. The Federal Aviation Administration's list focuses now on electronic devices that will be under scrutiny at the nation's airports. Among them pagers, cell phones, computers, even electric toothbrushes. All will undergo X-ray examination and explosive trace detector testing.
And since September 11, U.S. officials have taken a variety of steps to increase airport security, but are these new policies working? Well, our next guest is an expert on air safety. Isaac Yeffet, he is the former head of security for El Al. That is one of the world's safest airlines. He's joining us this afternoon from New York. Thank you very much for being with us.
ISAAC YEFFET, FMR HEAD OF SECURITY, EL AL: Thank you for having me.
CALLAWAY: Can you just tell me what you feel personally, or the biggest problems with the airline security here in America now?
YEFFET: Unfortunately, the security in air aviation at our country is bad. The reason, we are running the security with unqualified and untrained people. It's impossible to believe that we can hire unemployed people, unqualified people, and we train them a couple of hours, and we expect from them to be experts. Look what happened since September 11. The FAA closed airports around the country 32 times because of security problems.
Look how many times the security people at the security checkpoint around the country failed to identify and to stop guns and knife at the x-ray machine, at the metal detector. This is not the security that we need. This is not the security that we want to see in our country.
CALLAWAY: I think a lot of ...
YEFFET: ... and I am not ...
CALLAWAY: ... I'm sorry for interrupting. I apologize. I think a lot of people would probably agree with what you're saying. So what to do about that? Do you think there will be big changes when the U.S. government takes over?
YEFFET: By changing the name of the current security at our airports from private security to federal government, this won't help to improve the level of the security. The only way we can improve the security is to hire qualified people with minimum high school graduate. We have to train them about terrorist organizations around the world, why they hijacked and they blew up aircraft, why they succeeded, and the security failed, what the security should do in order to prevent the tragedy in the future.
CALLAWAY: So you think that basically the whole system of the way that companies run the airport security should be changed. Should it be private? Should it be run by the government, or should it just be how these individuals are trained?
YEFFET: I'm not happy that the federal government will take over because I believe that the responsibility should remain on the airlines because they are running the flight from A to Z. All the operation is their responsibility. It's impossible that the ticket office, for example, will be not part of the security. Look what happened with the terrorist Richard Reid that took the flight from Paris to Florida with American Airlines.
The man came with a brand new passport that was issued in Belgium. He came to Paris to take the flight with American Airlines, no luggage, paid cash for the ticket, one-way ticket, last minute ticket. The only thing that he didn't tell the security people that he didn't come with a sign stating that I am terrorist, stop me. All the rest, he gave us the classic suspicious sign to stop him immediately on the ground and not to let him board the aircraft.
The aircraft should be the last line of the security problems. Unfortunately, we have seen that the aircraft became the first and the only security -- and the last line of the security, which is wrong.
CALLAWAY: Doesn't this all, sir, come down to money and how much the airlines are willing to put forward for security, when you're talking a better educated, better trained employees to perform these tasks, which must be performed, to provide security.
YEFFET: Yes, it cost money. That's true. But somebody can answer me what is more important to American people, money or lives of innocent people that are coming to fly with American air carriers. We can not discuss about money if we will think what happened on September 11, how much money this cost the country and the taxpayer. Look how many billions of dollars the country spend now to find out where is bin Laden and his al Qaeda people. So we can not think on the negative side of the cost when we are dealing with life of the American people.
CALLAWAY: Point well taken. Isaac Yeffet, thank you very much for coming and sharing your thoughts with us on this Saturday.
YEFFET: Thank you.
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