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Airport Security Nicole Brusik Airports are running out of time to tighten security. They have until January 18th to meet a new government deadline. The Aviation Security Act calls for many security improvements in air travel across the U-S. The deadline for every bag at every U.S. airport to be screened is almost here, and no airport is completely ready. The airport closest to meeting the deadline is Salt Lake City Airport said director Tim Cambell. "I don't know if we'll make it here at SLC. Congress needs to rethink its requirements." Salt Lake is considered the flagship airport in terms of security. On February first it will be the first airport in the country to have the 100% baggage screening, but even Salt Lake won't have everything in place on time. Hosting the winter Olympics helped Salt Lake get millions of dollars for security. Money that other airports, like RDU don't have. SLC has nine Explosive Detection X-ray machines. RDU has one. Salt Lake has five bomb sniffing dogs. RDU has one. But both airports DO have new fingerprinting machines to do criminal background checks on employees. Although RDU doesn't have the money Salt Lake does, Airport Communications Manager Mirinda Kossoff says the airlines are still improving security.
"They've been working diligently to meet the deadline. The alternative measure is confirming every bag on the plane corresponds to a passenger on the plane. So workers at RDU have to match nearly 30 thousand bags every day, by hand. The least preferred way of meeting the requirements. And airport officials don't know what will happen if they don't meet those requirements. "It's hard to say what the fall out may be. Guess will just have to wait and see. " "I think the date will come and go. As long as everyone's making progress I think the congress will see it as a victory. " No one knows for sure what Congress will do if airports and airlines don't meet the deadline.
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