|
New airport security means dogs, better scanners
November 23, 1997
Web posted at: 6:57 p.m. EST (2357 GMT)From Correspondent Jim Hill
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- These days, the newly heightened security at Los Angeles International Airport means more wagging tails.
Remo, a bomb-sniffing dog, and four of her compatriots now have full-time jobs, working the terminals at LAX every day.
"We're high visibility. We're out there every day and throughout the terminal, driving round, walking around with the dogs," says Remo's handler, Officer Dan Cecil of the Los Angeles Police Department. "It puts people -- employees and people who come every day -- at a greater ease."
Under a directive issued by a federal commission that reviewed airport safety after the crash of TWA Flight 800, the nation's airports are upgrading their security measures.
"There is a much greater sense of purpose among the airlines and the airports now to improve security," says Cathal Flynn, security chief for the Federal Aviation Administration.
CNN's Jim Hill reports
Officials say the heightened security at the nation's airports is being implemented for two reasons. First, the threat of terrorism is greater. Second, better technology is available.
"Technology now does a whole lot of things that it didn't do before," says LAX official Jack Driscoll.
Part of that new technology is higher-tech software that allows airports and airlines to scan carry-on baggage more thoroughly. The scanners can do a specific analysis of items that might be explosives and, if they are indeed cause for concern, the items turn red on the monitor.
Still, when it comes to sniffing out suspicious substances, it's hard to beat a dog's nose. That's why Remo and the other dogs are constantly on the hunt for 10 different types of explosives, helping to keep LAX among the safest airports in the world.
Related stories:
- Justice says air passenger screening won't discriminate - October 2, 1997
- Aviation panel calls for new security measures - December 13, 1996
- Traveling? Be ready for tight security - November 25, 1996
Related site:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|
Sound off on our message boards You said it... |
|
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.