Features

Oakland airport gets federal screeners

Daily Planet Wire Service
Tuesday October 08, 2002

OAKLAND – Federal Transportation Security Administration security screeners will be deployed at Oakland International Airport this week following a similar move last week when the federally-trained workers took over security in a Mineta San Jose International Airport terminal and Los Angeles International Airport. 

Fred Lau, Oakland Airport’s TSA federal security director, and Airport General Manager William Wade is expected to announce the deployment to the passenger checkpoint in Terminal 1 during a news conference this morning. About 90 new federal security screeners were sworn in during a ceremony Monday. 

The new federal screeners have gone through 44 hours of classroom training and 60 hours of on-the-job training. Last week, TSA officials said the newly trained screeners are being brought in to enhance security measures already in place, with a national security standard that did not exist before. 

Acting Federal Security Director Mark Pooler explained that current screeners will be guaranteed screening jobs if they pass a TSA-sponsored assessment of their skills. 

“TSA is committed that all screeners will be guaranteed a position if they pass the assessment,” he said. 

TSA is responsible for civil aviation security in the U.S. Tuesday’s deployment of federal screeners at Oakland Airport is part of the agency’s efforts to establish federal security operations in commercial airports across the country under the terms of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001.