TSA implements new background checks for aviation employees

After a breach in airport security in which a Transportation Security Administration employee attempted to smuggle weapons onto a plane leaving Atlanta, the TSA has set new policies to help keep both staff and passengers safer. The Administration announced at the end of April that they had finished a review of airport security measures throughout the country, and is now taking action to close the security gaps that were found. According to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, the updates to airport security will significantly reduce “the potential insider threat” of employees. Under the new policies, airline employees, TSA employees and other airport workers will be subject to ongoing, random criminal background checks, though a system has not yet been established for conducting these random screenings. Airport and airline employees will also not be allowed to skip security screening before boarding flights as passengers. (The statement from Homeland Security did not specify if crew members were to be subject to TSA screening before boarding an airplane.) Those airport employees that maintain Secure Identification Display Area badges will also be subject to fingerprint background checks every two years. photo credit: Dulles DHS Employee Engagement via photopin (license)]]>