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Airports examine ways to boost security, safetyAugust 7, 1996Web posted at: 12:10 a.m. EDT From Correspondent Brian Jenkins ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (CNN) -- American airports are looking to bolster security, and they're turning to the Federal Aviation Administration's Technical Center for answers. The center is located just outside Atlantic City and was developed four years ago to enhance airport and airplane security. Here's a sample of new technology that may be coming to an airport near you:
Congress demanded a high-tech answer to terrorist threats in 1990, just two years after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland killed all aboard. Four years later, the original CTX-5000 was developed. The machine was much slower than the current version and never won FAA certification. Similar machines exist overseas, but the government hasn't approved them either. And for good reason, FAA officials say. "We don't want to be wasting taxpayers' dollars. Obviously, buying a lot of equipment that really isn't decreasing the risk" of terrorism threats would be a waste of money, said Guy Gardner, director of the FAA Technical Center. Also, it would take billions of dollars to equip all major U.S. airports with proper equipment and the personnel to manage it. To help pay for such costs, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, suggests raising ticket taxes by $4 per round trip. He also says the public must get used to longer lines as security becomes more strict.
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