For Immediate Release:

Friday, February 1, 2002

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has selected Spokane International Airport as one of 15 airports nationwide at which to study security procedures and processes.

The result of the study, which will be conducted over the next six weeks, will be used to improve security at all 429 U.S. airports with commercial service.

"Safety and security are the issues most important to travelers at America's airports," Senator Murray said. "The information gathered by studying Spokane International's security procedures will make traveling safer and more efficient for passengers across the country."

A team of TSA staff members and business process consultants will trace the movement of passengers and cargo through security systems at Spokane International and then determine what core changes could provide more effective security and better service to travelers.

The other airports chosen to participate in the TSA study are:

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Alaska; Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, GA; Baltimore-Washington International Airport, MD; Boston Logan International Airport, MA; Charlotte/Douglass International Airport, NC; Chicago O'Hare International Airport, IL; Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, TX; Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Grand Rapids, MI; Louisville International Airport, KY; Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, MN; Mobile Regional Airport, AL; John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY; Orlando International Airport, FL; San Francisco International Airport, CA.