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Susan WoodSecurity at our nation's airports is stepping up a notch. There's new talk of terrorist threats, but those in charge of keeping us safe in the sky say things are well under control.
Security experts in Salt Lake expect Utahns won't notice anything different. They don't anticipate longer lines, although lines are typically long in the morning. Airport baggage screeners are taking a closer look at the things you try and bring through the security checkpoints.
Earl Morris, Federal Security Director, TSA: “TSA is going to take a harder look to ensure that nothing is going to get through with anything hidden within.”
The Transportation Security Administration is responding to a warning from Washington. The homeland security department says it has clues that al-Qaida may be planning to sneak weapons or explosives onto US planes through carry-on checkpoints, so screeners are taking a closer look at everything they see.
“We scrutinize every device that comes through. It goes through the x-ray system whether its a computer or anything else that may have certain components, whether it’s a telephone, whether it’s a boom box, whether it’s anything else that may have some electronic components and we’re looking for certain things that indicate it may be a component of a bomb or something of that nature."
And it's not just electronics or things hidden inside a bag that they're worried about. As you go through the metal detector, you'll likely be asked to slip off your shoes. But you may want to keep this in mind; a lot of people are wearing sandals and they're following each other through the checkpoint barefoot.
Joyce Jones, Traveler: “And then we’re gonna have hoof and mouth disease a whole new series of athletic foot, and then new medical people at the airport, right?”
Of course, you might be able to take care of the problem by bringing along a little Lysol, but just like nail files, you can't; it's not allowed. It's an aerosol and that's flammable.
