Features

Airline passengers had their airport routines sharply altered after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and now the way they’re protected has changed as well. 

The new Transportation Security Administration took over responsibility for airline security Sunday, the first step toward a system where better-trained, higher-paid federal employees screen passengers and luggage. 

The new system received two early tests Monday. 

At Los Angeles International Airport, an inactive Army National Guardsman tried to pass an nonfunctioning military explosive through airport security and was arrested. A screener became concerned after noticing the device, which resembled an M-80 firecracker, said Sgt. Greg Glodery of the Los Angeles Police Department. A Federal Aviation Administration official said the device was found in the man’s carry-on luggage. 

At New York’s La Guardia Airport, a flight that had left for Cleveland was forced to return after it was discovered that one passenger had not been properly screened, FAA spokesman Laura Brown said in Washington. A concourse was evacuated and passengers were screened again after the flight returned. 

Tanie Guy, an Oracle Corp. employee, now arrives two hours early at the airport. “They’re a bit stricter, to say the least,” he said before going through the security checkpoint en route to San Francisco. 

“If a private organization does it, they’re looking to make money so they’re cutting costs and cutting corners in order to make money,” said Brandon Buhai of Chicago, departing O’Hare Airport, also for San Francisco. “You hope cost is not as much of a concern to the government.” 

Travelers said security changes weren’t dramatic.