TSA’s Statement on Phoenix Employee Screening
News & Happenings
July 23, 2007
TSA and the airport are reviewing security procedures at Phoenix/Sky Harbor International Airport during hours that the security checkpoint is not in operation. Pending the review, TSA and the airport have implemented several changes to ensure that security procedures at the airport are in compliance with national requirements concerning screening employees with access to concourses and other secure areas beyond the security checkpoint.
Effective today all employees entering the concourse area at Phoenix Sky Harbor will be screened by the Transportation Security Administration 24/7. While initial indications are that the airport was in compliance with local TSA agreements, a joint, thorough review of all security procedures at Phoenix is underway. During this review, the federal security director at Phoenix is on administrative leave. A senior TSA official has assumed interim FSD responsibility at Phoenix Sky Harbor. There is no indication that passengers were endangered or that there is a current security vulnerability.
TSA requires that people working in concourses, as well as goods sold in the so-called "sterile area," are screened before entering those concourses. The concourse area of most major airports either remains secure 24/7 or they are inspected before the checkpoint opens each morning.
