PORT ANGELES — Travelers at William R. Fairchild International Airport won’t have their checked baggage screened until at least December, said Airport Manager Jeff Robb.
The Airport Security Federalization Act mandates all checked bags must be screened — in some way, not necessarily with a bomb-detecting machine — by Jan. 18.
The new law also requires 100 percent luggage screening by bomb-detecting machines by December 2002.
Robb said Federal Aviation Administration officials told him to wait on screening checked baggage because the situation is changing so quickly. Carry-on baggage already is subject to search.
When the new Transportation Security Administration takes over baggage screening from the airlines, the FAA will begin funding the necessary equipment for screening checked baggage, Robb said.
The Transportation Security Administration is mandated to take control of airline security no later than Feb. 17, a deadline that federal transportation officials have conceded won’t be met.
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