LAX Resigned to Long Lines, Despite Cloud of Terrorism
Despite warnings by security experts that long lines at Los Angeles International Airport are vulnerable to a terrorist attack, airport officials have concluded that the staff cannot be added to significantly shorten queues in the next few years.
Rand Corp. recommended last fall that airlines and federal officials hire more people to speed travelers from sidewalks and terminal lobbies into the more secure gate areas as the quickest and cheapest way to protect LAX passengers.
But in documents obtained by The Times, the airport's top official advised the City Council that a third more airline workers and screeners would be needed — an increase that's not feasible. And even if cash-strapped airlines could hire additional staff, there wouldn't be enough ticket counter space for them, airport officials said.
But Rand insisted that the urgency of reducing lines at the world's fifth-busiest airport remained.
"It's still the recommended thing to do," said Donald Stevens, a senior engineer at Rand and lead author of the Santa Monica-based research institute's September study.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lax19mar19,0,1791217.story?coll=la-home-headlines