TravelinGal
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2003
- Messages
- 2,064
ExPirateShopGirl said:Individuals who are hired to work in, or have access to, the sterile (not secure, that means something entirely different) areas of airports are subject to pre-hire FBI fingerprint background checks, 10 year criminal & personal history checks, not to mention accounting for all periods of employment, residence and unemployment for the past 10 years along with reference checks for each. Airport employees are not only responsible for their individual jobs, but each are charged with maintaining the integrity of security-sensitive areas. Sure, even after all that an employee *could* concievably bring a banned item into the sterile area by using a coded access door rather than going through security. Some airports even require consession employees who work in the sterile areas to undergo security checks just like passengers. The TSA also requires airport security to randomly verify badge validity of employees in the sterile AND secure areas. Food prepared for on-board consumption goes through a security check, as well.
To answer your question, if an airport employee really and truly wanted to get plastique onto the ramp for boarding, there are certainly ways they could abuse the trust placed in them and do so. By the same token, you could decide you've had enough of the security line and pull out your semi-automatic. I certainly hope neither happen.
Yet one of the people arrested in the UK worked at the airport and had high level security clearance.
It CAN be done - it WAS done!