BOSTON (Reuters) ? Despite impressive changes to airport security in the decade since the September 11 attacks, gaps remain in securing the nation's airports, keeping passengers safe and investigating breaches, lawmakers said on Friday.
Ensuring that small or rural airports with limited funding have robust security measures was one concern that was critical to passenger safety nationwide, said Congressman William Keating, a Democrat from Massachusetts.
"We're only as good as our weakest link," he said during comments at a U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security subcommittee meeting at Boston's Logan International Airport.
Keating also suggested federal oversight of security efforts and authority to take action when there are lapses may be warranted and would be more effective than leaving local law enforcement in charge.
"There's no silver bullet in airport security. It's a comprehensive approach, coming at it from every angle you can," Keating said.
Other ongoing security issues officials have been grappling with include airport perimeter security breaches, passenger screening, jurisdiction for investigations, detecting chemical explosives and a need for a public safety radio band.
The concerns came up during a hearing with national and local transportation and security directors about the status of aviation security in the years since September 11, 2001, when two planes that originated from Logan were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center in New York.
In the following decade, the airport has become a national model for enhancing security, sharing intelligence and piloting passenger screening programs.
Boston in 2003 became the first airport to implement an observational screening technique in which officers look for suspicious passenger behavior.
Last month, the airport piloted another security measure in which officers chat conversationally with each and every passenger in Logan's Terminal A to help identify potentially high-risk behavior. Authorities will review the program's results and passenger wait times before deciding whether to roll out the technique more broadly.
Logan has also instituted physical barriers, new baggage screening and camera surveillance technology in recent years.
Those testifying at the hearing, however, said the most crucial step to boosting safety has been the collaboration and communication between a host of local and national law enforcement and security agencies that meet on a daily basis. The morning security briefing has taken place every day since the September 11 attacks.
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Cynthia Johnston)
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