Airport Employee Security

March 30, 2008 1:11 AM

What kind of security do airport workers have to undergo when they show up for work?

If you want me to be specific, I'm more curious about those who work on the outside (like runways and tarmacs) than those who work on the inside.

Thanks a lot.

posted by ryecatcher to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

not nearly as much as you think.

at jfk, ramp workers go through separate entrances. they are checked but upon leaving just go through a turnstyle activated with a swipe card at the side of i.e. terminal 4. at ewr, ramp workers either drive up to a remote gate where people check their id's and look with mirrors under the vehicle or they go through a separate security point on the ground level terminal building - all they need to do is hold up their pass to get waived through. (I did photoshoots on the tarmac as well as in aircrafts at jfk and ewr). access to jetways on the other hand is closely monitored, especially at jfk. the guy opening the door to the jetway with his swipe card had to let me in, close the door, swipe his card again and come through separately because otherwise "security would have scrambled" ... so apparently a camera monitoring system is in place there.

I remember us shooting inside an aircraft at jfk once. we had to unload a truckload of equipment, carry it through the normal passenger security to get it all x-rayed and load it through the jetway onto the aircraft. they then pulled the aircraft away to a remote stand where we were allowed to exit the aicraft but were closely monitored so we didn't walk onto an active taxiway.

one of the cleaning crew supervisors told me security at jfk was all show and quite the joke. he literally said could have driven a truck full of explosives onto the tarmac any day, even in the post-9/11 days.
posted by krautland at 2:18 AM on March 30

When I worked airside (past security, but still in the terminal building in my case) at Manchester Airport (UK) it was the case that people who had been working less than 3 months had to ring ahead from passport-control and get someone from their unit to come and meet them. Going through security (the same gates/guards as for the passengers) involved showing a photo-pass, bag x-raying and a pat-down, and then once airside you weren't allowed to move anywhere unescorted. I was only working there for one summer so never got a blue pass that would have done away with the need for escorting, but they still had bags x-rayed and got frisked.
posted by gregjones at 3:46 AM on March 30

Here's a discussion about your question. More info is available in the rest of the forum. Too much to search.
posted by Xurando at 5:22 AM on March 30

My friend works at LAX and she has to go through the security check with everyone else. The only thing she doesn't have to do is take off her shoes.
posted by HotPatatta at 9:27 AM on March 30

I can't speak to the security for airport or airline employees particularly, but those who work for other companies that have access to the tarmac (e.g. someone who works for a flight school that has a hangar that opens onto the tarmac), just need a badge that can be had by passing a security check. Once they have the badge, they can do their work out on the tarmac without having to pass through any security (other than a locked door to keep others out). They can also accompany others who don't have passes out onto the tarmac using a visitor's pass.
posted by ssg at 10:33 AM on March 30

I used to work at Port Columbus (in Columbus, Ohio). There was no real security that the employees went through. We could arrive at the airport, and enter an airplane without seeing another person. My bags were never searched, I was never searched, I could access the bagroom of other airlines. I was never impressed with the level of security I saw at the airport.

Even for flyers the security wasn't that tight*. At one point I saw a man get selected for the random bag search. (This is AFTER the X-Ray and metal detectors.) They opened his bag and they guy started crying. Right on the TOP was a LOADED handgun.

You would not be able to get on an airplane without taking off your shoes though.

We were supposed to have 100% bag match, (we didn't). Every bag went through the "x-ray/bomb detector". Some of them were actually scanned by it.

I had to load cargo on flights. Often these would be boxes left on our equipment (belt loaders). (We knew they were ours because they had our name on them.)

*Note, this does not mean it didn't take time and wasn't a hassle, but I don't think it made you that much more secure. The war on moisture is a good example. The removing of shoes. What the hell is the point? The TSA employees are doing what they're told, but they are not allowed to use their own judgment.

How scary is it that we don't trust the people doing this job to think?!?
posted by TheDukeofLancaster at 11:14 AM on March 31