Baggage screeningTSA awards $8.8 million to California airport for checked baggage screening system

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced an award of approximately $8.8 million for John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, for the construction of an inline baggage handling system at New Terminal C. The system will come on-line in late 2011 and enhances TSA’s efforts to strengthen security at airports across the country.

“This equipment allows our security officers to use the latest technology to screen checked baggage as the airport moves forward with its improvement program in Terminal C,” said TSA Federal Security Director BC Bell. “The baggage handling system we’ve seen in Terminals A and B is an efficient way to detect possible explosives and other threats while allowing for a more streamlined check-in process for passengers.”

The approximately $8.8 million award will come from fiscal year 2009 funds. The airport currently serves about 9 million passengers per year.

“We are very pleased TSA has selected John Wayne Airport to receive funding for the inline baggage handling system to be installed in our new Terminal C,” said Alan Murphy, airport director. “We look forward to working with TSA to implement this important project.”

Inline baggage handling systems use state-of-the-art technology to screen baggage for explosives quickly while streamlining the ticketing and boarding process. This eliminates the need for passengers to walk checked baggage to a screening location before proceeding to the security checkpoint. Additionally, the systems provide on-screen resolution capabilities for security officers screening baggage which reduces the number of re-scans and physical bag searches.