Senator Charles Schumer called Wednesday for daily federal screening of airport and airline workers for weapons following last month’s arrests of five men accused of smuggling guns through the New York and Atlanta airports.
The New York Democrat, joined by Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, said he’s asking the Transportation Security Administration to immediately require all U.S. airports to screen staff when they start work.
“In this day and age of terrorism, rampant drug dealing and gun smuggling, we just can’t be too careful,” Schumer said.
Currently, pilots and flight crews pass through the TSA metal detectors, as well as passenger. But Schumer said many employees who work in the secure sections of airports are exempt.
Authorities have charged five people, including an airline baggage handler, with illegally shipping firearms between Atlanta and New York on passenger jets, including 153 guns seized during the seven-month investigation.
“The ease by which airport employees are able to smuggle weapons and other contraband onto our commercial airliners is troubling and warrants immediate scrutiny and inspection,” Thompson said. That investigation, with the New York Police Department and federal authorities, identified “gaping holes in our nation’s airport security,” he said.
