TSA mulls a plan to eliminate security checkpoints at 150 smaller airports

Security checkpoints would be eliminated at more than 150 smaller U.S. airports under a plan being considered by the Transportation Security Administration. Passengers would instead be screened when they arrived at larger airports after their initial flight.

The idea was first floated by the TSA two years ago and was seen then by critics as a transparent effort to get Congress to spend additional money on the agency.

“This is completely nuts,” said Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation and an aviation expert. “Perhaps they want an outcry from the public to say ‘Oh, no, no, no, Congress, give them the additional $115 million that they say this would save.’”

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The proposal raises questions about whether would-be terrorists could penetrate the nation’s air system at the airports lacking screening or commander smaller shuttle aircraft and use them to damage buildings or other infrastructure.

In September 2001, two hijackers began their travels in Portland, Maine, in an effort to escape notice. Mohamed Atta and Abdulaziz al-Omari flew on a commuter plane to Boston, where they boarded an American Airlines Boeing 767, took control of the jet in flight and crashed it into tower 102 of the World Trade Center, causing the deaths of more than 1,600 people on Sept. 11.

The TSA said no decision has been made on the plan.

“There has been no decision to eliminate passenger screening at any federalized U.S. airport,” TSA spokesman Michael Bilello said in a statement. “Every year as part of the federal budget process TSA is asked to discuss potential operational efficiencies — this year is no different.”

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