I thought it would be sooooo much better with Federal employees handling screenings
Airport Screeners' New Guard Private Security Firms Want to Replace Government in 2005
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 6, 2004; Page E01
After suffering sharp ridicule from the public and near extermination by the federal government more than two years ago, the airline screening industry is seeking a comeback at U.S. airports.
The federal law passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that banned private companies from airports allows them to return by 2005 if they are approved by the government. The provision has led a few security firms -- many of them new to the business -- to begin pitching themselves to undecided airports as a class above the old guard of airport screening companies such as Argenbright Security Inc., which took the brunt of criticism after 9/11.
"The business prior to 9/11 didn't have the best reputation," said Nancy Montgomery, vice president of strategic accounts at Barton Protective Services Inc., a company that employs security guards at office buildings and would like to get into the airport security business. "It's a very different program now."
