Airport screener positions available

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The government has begun accepting applications for federal security screeners at Honolulu International Airport, the new Transportation Security Administration announced yesterday.

Applicants can apply only through a national hotline or an Internet Web site, officials said. Applications are not being processed in Honolulu.

Officials have said they expect an estimated 600 private security jobs in Hawai'i to be transferred to the new federal agency, which was created by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The agency said it is also ready to accept applications for federal positions at airports in Hilo, Lana'i, Midway, Guam and American Samoa.

Security screener duties include protecting travelers, airports and planes by identifying dangerous objects in baggage and on passengers.

Requirements for the job include U.S. citizenship, English fluency, a high school diploma, or a year of aviation security experience.

Private airport security operators, who have been handling the job up until now, have said that as many as half their employees may not meet the citizenship requirement.

Congress has told the new federal agency to assume passenger screening responsibilities nationwide by Nov. 19.

Earlier this month, longtime law enforcement official Sidney Hayakawa was named the federal security director in Honolulu.

Hayakawa will oversee the airport's new Transportation Security Administration office, which will oversee the hiring and placement of the workers as well as all passenger and baggage screening procedures.

The agency also said that it has begun accepting applications at more than 380 airports and sent site assessment teams to 269 airports.

CORRECTION: An earlier link to the Transportation Security Administration application site was incorrect.