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TSA Awards Additional $8.2 Million in Grants to Airports for Advanced Security Technology

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   -  May 5, 2004

TSA Press Office: (571) 227-2829

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Rear Adm. David M. Stone, Acting Administrator for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), today announced that 10 airports have been awarded a total of $8.2 million in grants for Airport Terminal Security Enhancements.

The grant recipients are: Bert Mooney Airport (BTM), Butte, Mont.; Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colo.; Elko Regional Airport (EKO), Elko, Nev.; Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami International Airport (MIA), Miami, Fla.; McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), Knoxville, Tenn.; Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah; San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, Calif.; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Seattle, Wash.; and Springfield/Branson Regional Airport (SGF), Branson, Mo.

"TSA continues to work with the airports and private industry to explore and deploy the most advanced technology commercially available to enhance security for the aviation system," Stone said.

"These programs will also deploy various technologies, including state-of-the-art video surveillance and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to track the location of mobile resources such as baggage carts and other vehicles in the secure areas of the airport," he said.

Airports awarded grants in the second round are:

• Bert Mooney Airport Authority was awarded $800,000 to purchase and deploy vehicular identification smart sensors that will monitor airport traffic.
• Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority was awarded $977,000 for Centennial Airport, a general aviation/charter airport, to provide enhanced video surveillance for the terminal building.
• City of Elko was awarded $470,000 for Elko Regional Airport to evaluate its perimeter security system and to assist in the integration of various sensor technologies.
• Jacksonville Airport Authority was awarded $1.4 million to purchase and deploy an advanced video surveillance system that will continuously record activities in the terminal. The system is designed to automatically alarm when there is a security breach.
• Miami-Dade Aviation Department was awarded $1.2 million to purchase, deploy and test "smart" video surveillance systems that will detect and track individuals attempting to enter Miami International's sterile area by bypassing the screening process at the checkpoint or entering through an exit lane.
• Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority was awarded $666,000 for McGhee Tyson Airport to purchase and deploy new technologies to integrate existing sensors and video systems to respond to threats more effectively and efficiently.
• Salt Lake City Department of Airports was awarded $924,000 to purchase and deploy a web-based RFID system to track the location of mobile resources, such as baggage carts and other vehicles near and around aircraft.
• San Francisco Airport Commission was awarded $484,000 to purchase and deploy information technology software to upgrade the existing video surveillance system to better detect persons entering sterile areas through exit lanes or bypassing checkpoint screening.
• Port of Seattle was awarded $1.25 million for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to purchase, integrate and deploy radar-based technologies to verify a perimeter breach, and to better protect airport facilities.  
• City of Springfield was awarded $63,000 for Springfield/Branson Regional Airport to purchase and deploy smart video surveillance systems to enhanced security for crucial operational facilities.

In December 2003, TSA awarded the first round of $7.8 million in grants for terminal improvements to eight airports. Key West International Airport, Key West, Fla.; Denver International Airport, Denver, Colo.; Pittsburgh International Airport, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Helena Regional Airport, Helena, Mont.; Newark International Airport, Newark, N.J.; and T.F. Green State Airport, Providence, R.I., were all awarded grants for various advanced video surveillance systems. Boston (Mass.) Logan International Airport was awarded a grant for a new network airport analysis tool to better manage such things as resources, equipment and traffic flow. Chicago (Ill.) Midway Airport received a grant to purchase and install a physical barrier system that can be deployed so that the evacuation of an entire concourse may be avoided should an incident occur at the checkpoint.

Funding for these grants to enhance airport terminal security was appropriated to TSA as part of the 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 107-206). To receive grant money, airport authorities needed to establish that the proposed equipment would have potential for retention and broader deployment, and could be evaluated between 12 and 18 months.

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