(U-WIRE) NORMAN, Okla. — Thanks to a late deal between the House and Senate that passed Thursday, airline security will be improved drastically. The Department of Transportation will provide security personnel to screen all bags. By 2003, all checked bags will be scanned for bombs. As it is, only about 10 percent of bags are now screened for bombs.
It’s about time Congress came through with a package of some kind. While Congress has found enough time to give enormous cash giveaways to giant corporations and chip away at our civil rights to facilitate the Justice Department’s investigation, it couldn’t figure out a way to keep knives, guns and bombs off airplanes.
The two houses had been too mired in bickering to notice that security at the nation’s airports was — and is — in exactly the same condition it was on Sept. 11.
The public is scared. If it turns out that Flight 587 was anything other than the accident it appears to be, the airlines will start seeing more empty seats.
The Thanksgiving holiday is crucial for the airline industry. If people don’t fly over Thanksgiving, the airlines really will go under, and no amount of congressional gifts will keep them in the sky. It’s all about confidence.
Even if we can never be completely safe, travelers need to feel as safe as possible. Only if they feel safe will they get on airplanes. And only if they get on airplanes will the airlines recover and help the economy take a step away from recession.