Pocono News Section

Security Added at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport

Security Added at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport - Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 5:35PM EST

Reported by: Mike Trim
Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 @ 05:35pm EST
AVOCA, LUZERNE COUNTY -- The Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday that its workers will start new bomb detection techniques. Roving patrols will check travelersÕ bags at airports even before they get to a checkpoint.

It's the latest in a series of security upgrades since the attempted terrorist attack on a plane headed for Detroit Christmas Day.

The first thing the Transportation Security Administration told the I-Team when asked about this airport was, make no mistake about it, just because this is a smaller airport doesn't make it more vulnerable.

Before you take off from the Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport, you'll see some changes here at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.

Casey Jenkins of Harford said, "When I flew into Avoca here they did something, checked my bag pretty thoroughly which was kind of unnecessary I thought, but that's probably good for everybody."

What Jenkins went through before his flight will now be the norm according to the TSA. Since the December 25th attempted plane bombing over Detroit, security has been tightened.

TSA Spokeswoman Ann Davis said, "These resources are being used in a random, unannounced fashion so passengers are not going to see the same thing at every airport and that's very purposeful."

Davis tells the I-Team security has been added to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Right now, there are 26 TSA workers here.

Travelers can expect more random screenings when they walk through this, the airportÕs only TSA checkpoint.

And how about those full body scan machines that were talked about so heavily after the Detroit incident? It's not clear when or if Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport will receive full body scan machines. The TSA tells me it has up to 400 on order, but it's not saying which airports those will be placed in.

Any security upgrade is good news to Ruthie Webber of Hazleton. She flies often and knows the dangers of terrorism. "I'm scared. I'm scared for the American public. They don't care about themselves, they don't care about us as people,Ó she said.

But with TSA security changes and possibly more on the way, the agency hopes travelers will feel safe with every flight.

We repeatedly requested an interview with airport administration for this story but the airport director and public safety director wouldn't talk to us on camera.