The September 11th attack
Airports cracking down on contraband
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Transportation Writer
Airline passengers who attempt to bring sharp objects aboard their flights in carry-on luggage should be prepared to lose those items, no matter how dear.
Associated Press
Passengers should also know that tightened security applies to strictly controlling passenger access to terminal areas.
At Los Angeles International Airport, items confiscated from passengers included knives, scissors, hammers and plastic guns.
Despite repeated warnings to passengers not to carry sharp objects with them, airport security offices across the nation report they are confiscating contraband by the boxfull.
Security is also under scrutiny. A company that operates security checkpoints at the Honolulu International Airport has been fined for allowing a non-ticketed passenger into the international terminal Saturday at about 11 p.m.
International Total Services Inc. was fined $35,000 by the Federal Aviation Administration, said state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali.
Only ticketed passengers are allowed in certain areas of the airport in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
ITS, which also operates checkpoints at Keahole-Kona Airport on the Big Island and at all Hawaiian Airlines terminals statewide, must now respond to the security breach.
"They will get a letter informing them of the incident," said Joe Guyton of the Airlines Committee of Hawaii. "Then ITS has to notify the FAA what actions it is taking to mitigate the problem."
Passengers who break the no-sharp-objects rule for carry-on material must either check bags containing the forbidden items or hand the items over.
And airport officials say the chances of seeing those personal items again are close to nil.
Airport officials nationwide at screening stations are confiscating pocketknives, box cutters, scissors, hammers, corkscrews, even nail clippers. The terrorists who hijacked the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon last week were reportedly armed with knives and box cutters.
Local airport security personnel said contraband is being confiscated at Hawai'i airports, though the problem is not as bad as on the Mainland.
Items discovered in Hawai'i have included travel scissors, nail clippers and mini-pocket knives.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Tweet Coleman said a friend boarding a flight had a nostril-hair clipper taken away.
"In another case, sharp knitting needles were confiscated," Coleman said.
Coleman said sharp objects transported for professional reasons, such as chef's knives, should be packed in checked luggage and declared upon check-in to prevent flight delays.
Kali said even innocent-looking items such as water pistols will be taken away. At Baltimore-Washington International Airport, security took away aerosol cans containing hair spray and shaving cream.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
