Report: Officials mishandled security breach at Fla. airport

A security breach at Orlando International Airport last year that led to increased scrutiny of airport workers nationwide was mishandled by officials, possibly in violation of security rules, a federal report says.

The incident on March 5, 2007, in which an airline worker for Delta subsidiary Comair sneaked 14 guns on board an Orlando-to-Puerto Rico flight, prompted calls for the Transportation Security Administration to screen everyone working at an airport.

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The plane, Delta Flight 933, landed safely at the San Juan airport where the worker, Thomas Anthony Munoz, was arrested. A Homeland Security Department inspector general report says the mishandling raises broader concerns.

"Delta might have failed" to follow a security procedure requiring airlines to immediately notify the TSA of a possible security threat, the report says.

TSA chief Kip Hawley blamed the Orlando Police Department, which protects the airport.

The report is the first accounting of apparent errors that day after Orlando police got a tip that a worker was on Flight 933 "with a weapon." Police took Zabdiel Santiago Balaguer, who worked for Delta subsidiary Comair, off the plane while it was at the airport gate.

A Delta manager at Orlando cleared Flight 933 to leave after the captain said he was comfortable flying, according to the report.

Police did not tell the TSA until shortly after Flight 933 took off, the report says, though Orlando police dispute that account.

Munoz remained on the plane with the guns and 8 pounds of marijuana.

Airport and TSA officials realized Munoz was a passenger when the flight was halfway to Puerto Rico. Munoz evaded airport security by carrying the duffel bag through an employee entrance that leads to airplanes, the report said. He and Balaguer were trying to smuggle the guns and drugs to Puerto Rico.

Aviation-security consultant Douglas Laird said Delta should have told the TSA as soon as it heard from Orlando police. "They never should have left the gate," he said. The TSA probably would have emptied the plane, screened passengers for a second time and searched the cabin, Laird said.

Hawley, in a statement attached to the report, blamed Orlando police for "late notification to TSA" and said new procedures require the airport to tell his agency whenever police are called to a plane. He said police told Delta that "contraband" was on the plane, which Delta thought indicated drugs, and that no one suspected terrorism.

Orlando Police Capt. Jeff O'Dell disputed Hawley's statement, saying police notified the TSA before Flight 933 took off and that TSA personnel were at the gate when Balaguer emerged from the plane. O'Dell said police used the term "contraband" because "that's how the tip came in."

Munoz and Balaguer are serving prison terms for weapons and drug charges. Delta declined to comment.

Flight cuts: Dozens of cities at risk of losing airline service

Airline schedule cutbacks are proving to be an especially difficult challenge to small-city airports, some of which now face the prospect of losing commercial passenger service altogether. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes "the Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, said 97 U.S. airports have lost or will lose all commercial airline service by the end of this year. … For some airports, the end of scheduled commercial flights left them with general aviation such as corporate jets and charter flights — and an airline counter that stands empty."

Among the cities that have lost all scheduled passenger service in the past year: Salem, Ore.; Trenton, N.J.; Wilmington, Del.; Belleville, Ill.; and Jackson, Tenn. Other cities that have lost service have been able to lure new -– but less conventional -– service on other airlines. Athens, Ga., for example, lost all of its service on traditional airlines, but now is served by a GeorgiaSkies. While that carrier offers frequent service between Athens and Atlanta, its flights are on Cessna 208-B Grand Caravan propeller planes and are not affiliated with any larger airline partners. Another city -– Owensboro, Ky. –- lost its DeltaConnection service but was able to lure Allegiant Air. Allegiant, however, flies only to Orlando out of Owensboro.

The reasons some of these airports struggle to hold service varies. Some markets are simply too small. Others are too close to nearby hubs, which siphon off customers with lower fares and more nonstop options. And while many of these smaller airports have made it a top priority to secure passenger service, it may not always be realistic, airline consultant Mike Boyd tells the Journal-Constitution. "They think if you keep studying it, it's like medical science — We'll find a cure," Boyd says. "But in many cases, you have to tell them it’s not going to happen." And even for some the cities that lost service, Boyd suggests it may not be that big of a deal. "You get congressmen who go nuts" over dropped service, Boyd tells the Journal-Constitution. "Well guess what? No one got on it anyway."

New machines scan IDs at border crossings

Agents along the Canada and Mexico borders are using a controversial new machine that can "read" the personal information contained in some government-issued ID cards — such as passports and driver's licenses — as travelers approach a checkpoint.

The Homeland Security Department says the new practice will tighten security and speed the flow of traffic. Privacy advocates say the technology could make Americans less secure because terrorists or other criminals may be able to steal the personal information off the ID cards remotely.

"There's this strange rush to a fancy or shiny new technology," says Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The cards "are quite vulnerable" to being cloned or having their codes broken.

Machines are in place at five crossings — Blaine, Wash.; Buffalo; Detroit; Nogales, Ariz.; and San Ysidro, Calif. — as part of the government's requirement that anyone who crosses the border must show a passport or other government documents proving citizenship and identity. The machines are being activated in Buffalo today; machines in Blaine and Nogales are in use; the rest will be on line over the next couple of months.

The new technology is being used in conjunction with new government passports, passcards and driver's licenses embedded with computer chips that contain the holder's name, date of birth, nationality, passport or ID number and a digitized photo. The personal data can be "read" by a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) machine as the person approaches a border-crossing checkpoint.

By the time a car stops at the Customs booth, the agent will have the photos and information of everyone in the car. If a name is on a watch list or database, the person will be taken in for questioning. The system will be "more efficient," says Thomas Winkowski of Customs and Border Protection.

Privacy-rights advocates warn that terrorists or other criminals can use their own machines in a process called "skimming" to read the information from as far as 50 feet. Consumer privacy expert Katherine Albrecht says the chips create the "potential for a whole surveillance network to be set up." She says police could use them to find criminals, abusive husbands to find their wives, and stores to track customers.

Homeland Security says the chips are made not to reveal personal information to machine readers — just a code, that then shows the information on the border agents' screen. The cards also come with protective sleeves for when they're not in use.

The border crossing ID requirement takes effect in June. So far, 600,000 State Department passcards and 40,000 embedded licenses from Washington state and New York have been issued.

U.S. adds 7 countries to Visa Waiver Program

Amid a downturn in global tourism, a new U.S. travel rule is triggering optimism in the industry for more inbound visitors from several countries.

The federal government will expand its Visa Waiver Program Monday to include South Korea and six Eastern European countries — Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic. It paves the way for the citizens of these countries to enter the USA for up to three months without obtaining a visa.

They join 27 developed countries, including the U.K., France and Japan, that have been granted the privilege. U.S. tourism officials have been vigorously lobbying for expansion in recent years to include other countries as a means to generate more visitors and ease concerns that the USA hasn't been as welcoming following 9/11.

In 2007, about 29 million travelers from overseas — excluding Mexico and Canada — visited the USA, up 10% from 2006, according to the Travel Industry Association. But given the global economic crisis, the number of overseas visitors to the USA is expected to drop 3% in 2009 to 25.5 million from an estimated 26.3 million this year, the TIA says.

Without the program, the rate of decline would have been steeper, says Geoff Freeman, a public affairs executive for TIA. "The Visa Waiver Program is the most critical program for international tourism to the U.S.," he says. "It's valuable on all sides of travel — from business travel to tourism and student travel."

Its proponents say the process of obtaining U.S. tourist visas for foreigners in their home countries can be burdensome and discourages many would-be visitors.

Since 9/11, all foreigners are required to undergo personal interviews. Relieving the burden would spur greater tourism spending in the USA at a time when hotels and airlines are seeing a sudden and dramatic slowdown, Freeman says.

Interest is particularly high in South Korea, where the program has been garnering front-page headlines. In 2007, 806,000 South Koreans visited the USA, ranking seventh-highest among foreign countries.

Korean Air estimates the number of its Korean customers visiting the USA will increase by more than 10% in 2009 despite the weak won.

In anticipation of greater demand, Korean Air will add 5% to 7% more seats for its trans-Pacific flights and increase the frequency of some flights, including Seoul-Washington and Seoul-San Francisco flights.

The Czech Republic, from which more than 45,000 visitors came last year, expects the figure will more than double in 2009, says Daniel Novy of the Czech Embassy in Washington, D.C.

András Juhász from the Hungarian Embassy says the number of Hungarian visitors to the USA also will likely increase once the visa requirement is waived. "We had to stand in line and, for some, they had to travel from the countryside to Budapest for the visa interview. Many weren't willing to go through this humiliating process."

TSA's 'behavior detection' leads to few arrests

Fewer than 1% of airline passengers singled out at airports for suspicious behavior are arrested, Transportation Security Administration figures show, raising complaints that too many innocent people are stopped.

A TSA program launched in early 2006 that looks for terrorists using a controversial surveillance method has led to more than 160,000 people in airports receiving scrutiny, such as a pat-down search or a brief interview. That has resulted in 1,266 arrests, often on charges of carrying drugs or fake IDs, the TSA said.

The TSA program trains screeners to become "behavior detection officers" who patrol terminals and checkpoints looking for travelers who act oddly or appear to answer questions suspiciously.

Critics say the number of arrests is small and indicates the program is flawed.

"That's an awful lot of people being pulled aside and inconvenienced," said Carnegie Mellon scientist Stephen Fienberg, who studied the TSA program and other counterterrorism efforts. "I think it's a sham. We have no evidence it works."

TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said the program has been "incredibly effective" at catching criminals at airports. "It definitely gets at things that other layers of security might miss," Howe said.

In many cases, the extra scrutiny is a casual conversation with a TSA behavior officer that shows someone is innocent, Howe said. Studies are underway that analyze the program's effectiveness, she added.

The program has grown from 43 major airports last year to more than 150 airports, including some with just 20 flights a day. The number of behavior officers will jump from 2,470 to 3,400 by October.

The TSA has not publicly said if it has caught a terrorist through the program. The agency says that some who are arrested, particularly on fake ID charges, may be scouting an airport for a possible attack.

Some scientists say the TSA effort is just as likely to flag a nervous traveler as a terrorist.

"The use of these technologies for the purpose that the TSA is interested in moves into an area where we don't have proven science," said Robert Levenson, a psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley.

Although observers can perceive whether someone appears anxious or is acting deceptively, they can't tell whether that person is planning an attack or something such as an extramarital affair, Levenson said.

Levenson and Fienberg were part of a National Academy of Sciences team whose report last month said "behavioral surveillance" has "enormous potential for violating" privacy.

The report calls for more research and says surveillance should be used only as "preliminary screening" to find people who merit "follow-up investigation." That is how the TSA uses the program, Howe said.

Paul Ekman, a San Francisco psychologist who helped design the TSA program, said it can be effective. But it needs more study, he said.

"The shortcoming is, we don't know how many people are showing suspicious behaviors and aren't being noticed," Ekman said.

Airlines could cut more flights

More cuts in airline schedules may await travelers after the holidays — there are early signs that the usual after-Christmas falloff in travel could be deeper than airline managers had expected.

With conventional fare sales and an overall 10% reduction in domestic flying capacity already in place for the December holidays, U.S. airlines aren't worried that the sliding economy will produce the kind of bah-humbug Christmas season retailers fear.

But come Jan. 5, when all the family vacationers, New Year's revelers and college football fans have gone home, and corporations' austere 2009 travel budgets take effect, all bets are off.

Signs of weakening demand:

•Continental Airlines last week sharply reduced its forecast for a key benchmark of revenue growth for November. It now expects a 4% to 6% increase from a year ago in revenue per seat per mile flown instead of growth in the "low to mid-teens." Continental is the only U.S. airline that publishes such a forecast, but history has shown it to be a reliable gauge of industry trends.

•A Southwest Airlines official says Continental's outlook conforms with her airline's. Tammy Romo, Southwest's vice president of financial planning, says trends have worsened in the month since the airline announced a 5% cutback in January flying capacity — a big reversal for an airline that's grown steadily for 34 years.

"We have seen signs of weakness in our recent booking and revenue trends," Romo says.

•American Express, one of the largest corporate travel agencies, forecast three weeks ago that 2009 coach fares typically paid by business travelers could range from down 3% to up 5%, depending on the length and severity of the U.S. economic downturn. Now it looks like the lower end of that forecast will prove most accurate because business travelers increasingly are seeking cheaper fares aimed mainly at leisure travelers, says AmEx spokeswoman Tracy Paurowski.

So how will airlines react?

In the past they turned to widespread price cutting. But this year's fare and fee hikes, along with recent drops in fuel prices, put profits in sight in 2009.

During earnings conference calls with analysts and reporters last month, executives at several airlines hinted their bias is toward further capacity cuts if demand weakens more. Officials at Delta, now the world's biggest carrier, have dropped the strongest such hints.

"Managing your capacity is critical to controlling your revenues," spokeswoman Betsy Talton says.

What is the USA's most-delayed flight?

The nations most delayed flight? According to the latest numbers from the Department of Transportation, it's American Airlines Flight 1267 (Miami-to-San Juan), which arrived late 86.7% of the time by an average of 70 minutes in October, the latest month for which data is available (page 14). The other flight making the list for October: Delta subsidiary Comair Flight 6273 from Cleveland to Atlanta, which arrived late 82.8% of the time by an average of 47 minutes.

But the real highlight of the latest federal report may be the fact that only two flights showed up on October's list of chronically delayed flights (flights that arrive late at least 80% of the time they fly). The two-flight list from the latest report stands out, standing out in stark contrast to previous data. Dozens of flights have made the DOT's "chronically late" category every month for at least the past year. In September alone, for example, the DOT report listed 74 flights (pages 14-16) as arriving late at least 80% of the time.

Overall, USA TODAY says "U.S. airlines' on-time performance improved in September as the industry handled fewer flights amid lower demand, according to government data released Friday. The 19 carriers filing information reported an on-time rate of 84.9% in September, higher than both September 2007's 81.7% and August 2008's 78.4%, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. A flight is counted as 'on time' if it arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled time."

USA TODAY adds "airline performance generally improves in early fall, as the busy summer season winds down and the relatively slow pre-holiday period kicks in. Moreover, the industry has aggressively cut back flights in many domestic markets in the face of rising jet fuel prices earlier this year and a slowing economy. The cutbacks have resulted in faster flight turnarounds and less congestion in busy hubs, where delays can trigger stacked runways throughout the system."

Airlines' fuel surcharges fade, but airfares don't

Airlines last week eliminated or significantly lowered fuel surcharges for tens of thousands of domestic fares, but consumers are not paying less for most tickets.

An analysis by FareCompare.com at USA TODAY's request reveals that many airlines folded the amount of the surcharge into the airfare, so for most tickets, travelers are paying the same as before the change.

"We have seen a tectonic shift in domestic airfares, but it's not great news for consumers, because the major airlines have, for the most part, simply shifted the surcharge amount into the base airfare," says Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com.

Until last week, many airlines' domestic airfares had fuel surcharges — except where they compete with Southwest or another discount carrier that doesn't have them. Last week, American eliminated most domestic surcharges and reduced many others. Competitors followed.

Most international tickets still have fuel surcharges ranging from $200 to more than $500. On Nov. 5, 75% of American's 65,000 domestic fares had no surcharge, compared with 32% on Sept. 18, according to FareCompare.com. Nearly 6,000 of American's domestic fares on Sept. 18 had a $200 surcharge; four did on Nov. 5.

Most surviving high surcharges are on Hawaii routes. On Nov. 5, American had 4,000 domestic coach or first-class fares with a $280 surcharge; Delta had 6,000 with a $289 surcharge.

Many fares have absorbed the surcharges.

For example, on Nov. 1, American's base fare was $680, plus a $170 fuel surcharge, for a round-trip, 14-day advance-purchase ticket between Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. The ticket's cost before government and airport fees was $850.

On Nov. 6, the same ticket cost $850 with no fuel surcharge.

The airlines' moves provide "a bit more transparency" in prices, Seaney says, but the wide range of surcharges also shows that the run-up in domestic fuel surcharges the past year "had everything to do with competition and the need to raise ticket prices."

Airlines say they began the fuel surcharges because they were hit by record fuel costs. The industry projects it will lose billions of dollars this year.

US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder says the full price of a ticket — not the surcharge — matters.

"We still need to be able to charge enough for our product to be profitable, and we aren't there yet."

Aviation consultant Michael Boyd says the changes are not deceptive. This year is "a financial disaster" for airlines, so "shifting the name from 'fuel surcharge' to 'fare' is not ripping the public off," he says.

Severe norovirus-like outbreak hits Holland America cruise ship

Holland America's Zuiderdam has been hit by an unusually large outbreak of what appears to be norovirus -- the flu-like stomach bug that causes diarrhea and vomiting.

More than 12% of passengers on board the vessel -- 224 out of 1,820 -- came down with the illness during a 17-night voyage that ended Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

It's the first time this year an outbreak has surpassed 10% of passengers on a ship -- a rare occurrence.

The CDC says Holland America has sent additional staff to the Zuiderdam to help clean and disinfect it. The line also delayed the ship's departure on Monday to allow for extra cleaning.

CDC officials boarded the ship Monday, and the CDC is now testing stool samples to determine whether the outbreak is, indeed, norovirus.

Holland America has struggled with gastro-intestinal illness this year on its ships, with six outbreaks documented by the CDC. Only two other lines have had more than one outbreak: Norwegian Cruise Line (4) and Princess Cruises (2). Three other lines -- Carnival, Regent Seven Seas and American Canadian Caribbean Line -- have each had a single outbreak.

Holland America also led the industry in gastro-intestinal illnesses in 2007 with five outbreaks (tying with NCL) and in 2006 with seven outbreaks, according to CDC statistics.

Sometimes called the "24-hour flu," norovirus is the most common cause of stomach illness in the United States, accounting for around half of all cases, according to the CDC. It breaks out regularly in schools, nursing homes, hospitals, offices and other places people congregate.

Air freight gets tighter screening

For the first time, business cargo carried on most passenger planes is being checked for explosives, according to airlines and the Transportation Security Administration.

Airlines began checking air freight on single-aisle airplanes such as 737s and 757s as of Oct. 1, the TSA said. Air freight often includes products sent from manufacturing plants to stores and is carried on planes along with passenger luggage.

Cargo carried on wide-body planes such as 747s is still not checked for bombs but will be by early 2010, the TSA said.

"This is a very significant step for security," TSA spokesman Christopher White said. Single-aisle planes account for more than 90% of domestic flights, he said, though they hold only 25% of the cargo carried by passenger planes.

The TSA has been under pressure for several years to do a better job ensuring that there are no bombs hidden in the 250 million freight packages that passenger planes carry each year. Freight includes anything from flowers and fish to computers and auto parts that require quick delivery.

Most air freight is carried on cargo-only planes, but passenger planes also carry it. On some passenger flights, such cargo fills half the luggage hold.

Cargo groups hailed the progress made in screening.

"The American flying public should be happy and secure in the knowledge that every package that goes on narrow-body flights is screened," said Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, a trade group of companies that help transport cargo.

Airlines are doing most of the screening at the 80 large and midsized airports using machines that detect residue from explosives, said David Castelveter of the Air Transport Association, an airline trade group.

At more than 370 small airports, the checks are done by TSA screeners who run cargo packages through the same bomb-detection machines that scan luggage, White said.

Cargo transported on single-aisle planes is easy to screen because it comes in small packages that fit through bomb-detection machines, said Steve Alterman, president of the Cargo Airline Association.

Cargo on wide-body jets is harder to screen because it is packed in 5-foot-by-5-foot metal containers. The TSA has until February 2010 to fully screen that cargo and meet a congressional deadline. The TSA plans to have some screening done by manufacturers as they pack shipments such as computers or air conditioners into boxes for air shipment.

Delta Air Lines adding first bag fee

Delta Air Lines, the world's biggest carrier, said Wednesday it will impose a $15 fee to check a first bag, becoming the last of the six legacy airlines to impose such a fee.

The carrier also said it is cutting certain other fees as it aligns its policies with those of Northwest Airlines, which it acquired last week.

Atlanta-based Delta said that effective immediately, for traffic on or after Dec. 5, customers flying within the U.S. will be charged $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second checked bag when traveling domestically, consistent with Northwest's existing policies.

Customers who purchased Delta tickets on or before Wednesday, and who are traveling on or after Dec. 5, will be charged $50 for a second bag, but will be permitted to check their first bag without charge based on Delta's previous policy. Customers flying in first or business class, including SkyMiles Medallion members and WorldPerks Elite members, will be able to check up to three bags, up to 70 pounds each, for free, Delta said.

Delta also said it is eliminating SkyMiles and WorldPerks award ticket surcharges, reducing reservation sales direct ticketing charges and eliminating curbside check-in administrative fees.

Effective immediately, Delta will eliminate the $25 to $100 fuel surcharges assessed for SkyMiles and WorldPerks award ticket travel originating from the U.S. and Canada. The surcharges were instituted earlier this year by both airlines due to high fuel prices, which have declined significantly since their record level in July.

As of Thursday, Delta will reduce the fee assessed for tickets purchased over the phone from a reservations sales representative from $25 to $20, consistent with Northwest's policy. Delta will also reduce the fee collected when customers redeem either SkyMiles or WorldPerks award travel over the phone with a reservations sales representative from $25 to $20. There is no charge for customers who book tickets and redeem award travel online at Delta's website or Northwest's website.

As for curbside check-in, Delta said that, effective Dec. 5, it will drop the $3 fee it has been charging.

Delta also said that last week it began offering coach customers on certain flights the ability to purchase a better seat assignment in their cabin for $5 to $25, depending on distance traveled and seat location. The so-called "coach choice seats" represent less than 10% of all seat assignments available on Delta-operated flights, the airline said.

Most other Northwest baggage policies and fees will be aligned to Delta's structure, effective Dec. 5, Delta said. Travel on Delta and Northwest tickets purchased prior to the announcement of the changes will continue to be governed by prior Delta and Northwest policies.

Delta completed its $2.8 billion stock-swap acquisition of Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest on Oct. 29, creating the world's biggest carrier in terms of traffic. The operations of Northwest, which is now a Delta subsidiary, will be integrated with Delta's over the next one to two years.

The company keeps Delta's name, its Atlanta headquarters, and chief executive Richard Anderson, who used to run Northwest.

Airline crew restrains unruly flier with duct tape

Authorities say a flight crew used duct tape to restrain an unruly passenger on a flight from Puerto Rico to Chicago.

The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday that the FBI said the woman slapped a crewmember on the buttocks and pulled a blind passenger's hair. The flight was diverted Saturday to Charlotte, where the passenger fought with police officers who came aboard the plane.

FBI Agent Peter Carricato said the passenger also used profanity and was touching and jabbing other passengers.

Authorities said 45-year-old Maria Esther Castillo of Oswego, N.Y., has been charged with resisting arrest and interfering with the operations of a flight crew. She faces a detention hearing on Thursday