New Security Is In Place At MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
Director: Airport Ready For Passengers
MidAmerica Airport, Illinois (November 8, 2002) -- Federal agents implemented a required new security system Thursday at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.
And the airport's director is confident the airfield will soon again be in the passenger airline business.
The "federalization" was part of a nationwide effort to make the country's airports as safe as possible after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. But Airport Director Tim Cantwell said it is an important step to helping MidAmerica get back in the transportation business.
Cantwell said MidAmerica's security program calls for the use of six federal screeners. Those workers have already been trained and are ready to spring into action if and when they are needed. Those workers, Cantwell said, are currently working at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
While none of the security screeners will work at MidAmerica until a passenger carrier is found, Cantwell said they will feel right at home when they're recalled.
"We're not pushing passengers through here yet," Cantwell said. "But we're seeing an increase in the military flights at the airport and we're selling (the military) gas. We're working on getting a maintenance-overhaul business in here and we're still talking with a number of airlines about national passenger service."
MidAmerica has been without regular commercial passenger service since December when Pan Am pulled the plug on flights from the airport to the Chicago and Orlando, Fla., areas after a little more than a year in business there.
Airport officials have had discussions with several airlines about starting passenger service at MidAmerica, Cantwell said, although he would not reveal which companies might be interested. But while there are no specific plans to replace Pan Am, both airport and federal officials say they need to be ready to move when a new airline is found.
Bill Switzer, federal security director for the Transportation Security Administration in the St. Louis area, said all 429 of the country's passenger airports must be switched over from private security screening to federally approved security by Nov. 19.
The process of getting MidAmerica ready was conducted by teams from the Boeing and Lockheed aircraft companies that were hired by the federal government to draft security plans.
"The process of federalizing the airport took about two months," Switzer said. "All of our screeners go through 40 hours of training."
All of the federal security screeners currently working in the St. Louis area, Cantwell said, were trained at MidAmerica.
Information provided by the Belleville News-Democrat
SCOTT WUERZ Article © the Belleville News-Democrat
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