James Loy, acting chief of the USA's Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has refused to extend the year-end deadline for full screening of passenger bags with scanning devices at airports.
Loy, who replaced John Magaw as TSA head in July, has rejected a request by 133 US airport managers to delay the legislation, a response to last year's terrorist attacks. Loy says the deadline "offers us focus". He adds airports unable to meet the deadline could win a temporary waiver to screen baggage using non-mechanical measures.
Last year's aviation security law orders all 429 major commercial airports to screen check baggage using explosives-detection machines by year-end. Over 90% of the airports will have bomb-scanning devices in place by then, but as many as 35, including some of the largest, will not due to "lost time, lost budget and real engineering challenges", he said.
In July, the House passed a bill extending the deadline by a year, while the Senate was uncertain, and it is likely to be rejected.
Loy has already moved to reduce security hassles by dropping a rule that prevented passengers taking coffee through security checkpoints, and the requirement that they are questioned about the packing of their luggage.
Source: Flight International