Keep your eyes on the developments at Orlando International Airport

(Whoops! Hit enter too soon.)

It seems as though Orlando airport is going to be dumping the Homeland Security task force known as the TSA and try a private screening company.

This has been discussed for some time now.
December 8, 2010:

Airport decision on private security will take months

articles.orlandosentinel.com... urity

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority will take a few more months to research the possibility of switching from federal to private air-passenger security screeners before deciding which would operate at Orlando International Airport.

The GOAA board got a look Wednesday at what it might take to have the U.S. Transportation Security Administration hire a private company to run metal detectors and X-ray body scanners and conduct passenger pat-downs instead of continuing to entrust the job to TSA employees.

Just yesterday, OIA administrators announced that they are in fact getting rid of the TSA and hiring a private company to conduct searches. Although I'm unable to locate the article from the local website, I did manage to find this write up:
bodyscannertruth.com...

Wednesday afternoon, Orlando International Airport officials took their first step toward getting rid of TSA workers. The federal agency would still oversee screening, but a private contractor would conduct it.

It’s unlikely that passengers will notice much of a difference, because the rules won’t change. But some believe a private company employee has to work daily to keep their job, where it’s more difficult to fire a government worker if the job is not being done.

Union representatives for TSA employees say OIA will get better quality workers with the government.

“Background checks? Background checks, criminal history, sex offenders? Sex offenders, all that cost money. So does a private company have that kind of money to keep spending? We’re checked every three to four months,” said Donald Thompson, AFGE union representative

The authority began looking into the issue after receiving a letter from Congressman John Mica and the recent controversy over patdowns and body scanners. John Baezer says laid off TSA workers will be getting jobs with the private companies and this is just trading one uniform for another.

“We don’t need scanners or groping patdowns,” Baezer said.

Orlando International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the country and have had their share of stories regarding the TSA and travelers' issues. Seeing as Florida is moving towards privatizing prisons, privatizing airport screeners comes as no surprise.

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

reply to post by Afterthought


Erm, I can only presume here as there is nothing other than a title but are you referring to recent changes by the TSA when it comes to the elderly or something else and if so, post it as I would be interested to know.

Whoops. Wrote to soon. It is Orlando International(MCO), I was under the impression it was Orlando/Sanford Airport.

Good for them. I've been there 3 times in the past week and the majority of TSA uniformed workers stand around and do nothing. Besides the assault on one's decency, lack of common sense for screenings, TSA cost way too much for their 'service.'

reply to post by XXXN3O


Yeah, sorry about that. I did enjoy your sarcasm though.

You're right about them saying that they're going to be giving children and the elderly less attention. I'm still searching for the article I read yesterday that states this. I'll keep looking.

Ever since they started placing X-ray machines and molesters in the airports, I have tried to avoid flying at all costs. I've had more than enough medical x-rays in my life, so I don't really want to walk through one if I don't have to. Besides, even before 9/11, I was always pulled to the side for extra inspection, which is strange. I don't think I look especially dangerous.

In regards to patting down children, this is going way too far. We have been telling children for decades not to allow strangers to touch them, yet they have to comply if they're flying to grandma's house for a vacation. For a young child, I'm sure this type of conflicting information is confusing to them and gives bad people the upper hand.

reply to post by jrod

Orlando International (MCO)

Thanks for specifying its code. Being local, I hear it referred to as OIA more times than not and forgot that it's technically MCO.

When I think about it, Orlando is home of Universal Studios and Disney World. As a Dad who has taken his younger children to both, I refuse to fly them, commercially, in to Orland or anywhere. And the only time I fly is either in a Mooney or a &$ - @$. So maybe Orlando and it's surrounding tourist industries are feeling the crunch and absurdity of, The Samsonite Ape's, and are going to employ their own security

reply to post by Violater1


Well, sure.
Wasn't it last year that Homeland Security declared Orlando as a terrorist hot spot? All those kids flying in to see Mickey and all the elderly snow birds are becoming a real threat these days.

Thinking back, now I remember doing a thread about the TSA in Orlando getting caught making false claims.
Maybe this was the final nail in their casket?

"TSA exaggerates claims about 2008 incident at OIA"
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by Afterthought
reply to post by XXXN3O

 

Yeah, sorry about that. I did enjoy your sarcasm though.

No sarcasm intended, can see where it could have came across though.

Let me first say, I will be on here as little as possible. I will let you all on here know information as soon as I am able to get it out to you. Please do not question me on where I get this information or any contact information that I may have. I am a "involved" with homeland security and know more of this then what the media is getting to the general population. There is a reason behind the "possible" new security contracts at upcoming national airports. Alot of you here on this site have a very outstanding idea of things that are going on. Keep this is mind, if things are put on here, there is a reason. Some "persons" also have reasons for posting on here.There is a reason for everything. I will get back hopefully in the next few days with information for you. Thank and may God or whatever power you believe in protect and guide you.

reply to post by ncyder538


Welcome to ATS!

I'm looking forward to reading what you're preparing to discuss. It's always good to hear from an insider as long as you're being truthful. Although I won't ask you where you get your info, please understand if your info is scrutinized. It's only the logical thing to do around here.
Please hurry back!

Originally posted by Afterthought
(Whoops! Hit enter too soon.)

It seems as though Orlando airport is going to be dumping the Homeland Security task force known as the TSA and try a private screening company.

This has been discussed for some time now.
December 8, 2010:

Airport decision on private security will take months

articles.orlandosentinel.com... urity

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority will take a few more months to research the possibility of switching from federal to private air-passenger security screeners before deciding which would operate at Orlando International Airport.

The GOAA board got a look Wednesday at what it might take to have the U.S. Transportation Security Administration hire a private company to run metal detectors and X-ray body scanners and conduct passenger pat-downs instead of continuing to entrust the job to TSA employees.

Just yesterday, OIA administrators announced that they are in fact getting rid of the TSA and hiring a private company to conduct searches. Although I'm unable to locate the article from the local website, I did manage to find this write up:
bodyscannertruth.com...

Wednesday afternoon, Orlando International Airport officials took their first step toward getting rid of TSA workers. The federal agency would still oversee screening, but a private contractor would conduct it.

It’s unlikely that passengers will notice much of a difference, because the rules won’t change. But some believe a private company employee has to work daily to keep their job, where it’s more difficult to fire a government worker if the job is not being done.

Union representatives for TSA employees say OIA will get better quality workers with the government.

“Background checks? Background checks, criminal history, sex offenders? Sex offenders, all that cost money. So does a private company have that kind of money to keep spending? We’re checked every three to four months,” said Donald Thompson, AFGE union representative

The authority began looking into the issue after receiving a letter from Congressman John Mica and the recent controversy over patdowns and body scanners. John Baezer says laid off TSA workers will be getting jobs with the private companies and this is just trading one uniform for another.

“We don’t need scanners or groping patdowns,” Baezer said.

Orlando International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the country and have had their share of stories regarding the TSA and travelers' issues. Seeing as Florida is moving towards privatizing prisons, privatizing airport screeners comes as no surprise.

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

edit on 15-3-2012 by Afterthought because: (no reason given)

You can figure they'll hire TSA rejects at higher pay.

reply to post by bg_socalif

You can figure they'll hire TSA rejects at higher pay.

I won't say you're wrong and it would be a huge mistake on their part.

"Former TSA agent from Baltimore County indicted on federal porn charges"
www.abc2news.com...

"Uniformed TSA screener busted in drug raid"
www.nypost.com...

These people keep looking better and better every day!

"Pay $100 to SKIP airport security under new plan (but TSA screeners still subject wheelchair-bound toddler to invasive tests)"
www.dailymail.co.uk...

They are the bottom feeders who are slaves to The Man and have no problem subjecting children and others to "necessary" molestations.

This part just made me laugh so hard....

Union representatives for TSA employees say OIA will get better quality workers with the government.

“Background checks? Background checks, criminal history, sex offenders? Sex offenders, all that cost money. So does a private company have that kind of money to keep spending? We’re checked every three to four months,” said Donald Thompson, AFGE union representative

They are doing such a good job with background checks, that the TSA is hiring these types of people anyway. Like this guy,

Channel 2 Action News has learned a TSA security worker accused of abducting and sexually assaulting a woman had previously been convicted of misdemeanor harassment and stalking.

Source

and this is NOT an isolated incident. This is one of MANY stories, but just like everything the Government gets involved in, they can't do it right.

The TSA serves a very important and vital role in airline security, and all of their employees are required to pass security and background checks. However, those checks in the past have been less than thorough. For example, in 2004, the Department of Homeland Security (which includes TSA) released a report that stated that TSA had allowed some screeners to perform their duties before their criminal background checks were complete, and allowed others to continue working while problems with their background checks were resolved. Even if this problem no longer exists for current applicants and employees, a more serious problem may be that the current system of background checks may have allowed those convicted of rape and other sexually based offenses to join TSA.

Source

Agencies across the state, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, collaborated to root out alleged online sex crimes against children perpetrated in chat rooms, through text messages, dating sites, social networks and classified advertisements, officials said.

Suspects include then-Transportation Security Administration agent Paul David Rains, 62, of Orlando, who no longer works for the agency.

I accidently closed the window before linking the source for this one and now I cant find the exact article, but here is a different article discussing the case.So a semi source

Yeah the TSA is doing such a good job of background checks on their workers The truth is... the security firms in my local area who hire security guards for the local Casinos do a much better job of background checks than the TSA does.

Just a little update for those who are interested.

I found this to be an interesting turn of events.
articles.orlandosentinel.com...

Orlando International Airport officials have long expected a train to chug onto the property, but not as soon as a Coral Gables real estate company is proposing.

Florida Real Estate Industries Inc. has announced tentative plans to build a $1 billion train from Miami to Orlando by 2014. None of its four stops have been pinpointed, but OIA would seem the most logical terminus in Central Florida.

A train actually sounds really great, right? As of late, I'd much rather take a train than a plane if I can help it.
But,... let's read between the lines, shall we?

That lack of specifics is somewhat unsettling for OIA administrators because right now they have no idea how the privately financed train would hook up with the airport.

"A lot of variables have to be put into the equation," said director Phil Brown, who has yet to speak with anyone associated with the train project, dubbed All Aboard Florida.

I have a difficult time understanding why the director of the airport hasn't spoken to anyone yet. Shouldn't he have been briefed by now? Then, I'd like you to pay special attention to the fact that the train is going to be privately financed. This thread was based upon privatizing screeners. Now, we're seeing the privatization of trains. Florida has also be making tremendous strides in privatizing the prison system. I hope I'm not the only one making connections here.
Also,

The biggest driver for a new terminal would be passenger counts, Brown said. OIA is at 35 million now and, experts say, the existing terminal starts to become too crowded at between 40 million and 50 million passengers. The upper end of that estimate might not occur until 2023.

The date of completion is significant, I believe. I've seen a bunch of projects that are expected to be completed by 2020 and 2025. So, I'll just add this one to the list.

FECI's proposal to spend exclusively private funds on a mass-transit system is rare. Transportation projects almost always are heavily underwritten by government.

Rare, you say? Well, the Orlando Int. Airport seems to be a testing ground of sorts. At least that's how it's looking to me.
The article ends with this statement:

FECI, which also does business as Flagler, owns property throughout Florida and, according to the South Florida Business Journal, earlier this year had everything up for sale. That plan has fallen through, the paper said, but some Central Florida real estate brokers think a deal might be in place to sell SouthPark Center in south Orange County near John Young Parkway and Sand Lake Road.

That sale could generate more than $100 million that could go toward the train. An FECI spokeswoman could not comment on any possible real-estate transactions.

Judging from the article's conclusion, it sure sounds to me as though somebody has really been planning for this and has no intention of losing a hefty investment. The amount of mystery surrounding this and the people who claim they are not in the know is disturbing to me. It reeks of compartmentalization.

reply to post by ncyder538

I will get back hopefully in the next few days with information for you. Thank and may God or whatever power you believe in protect and guide you.

I hope you're doing well. I saw that you haven't logged in since the day you posted.
I wish you would return and provide us with the information you're privy to.
If you don't, I wish you luck in your journeys and thanks for stopping by all the same. At least you have provided some info that was intended to mean that I and others are not being paranoid about these events. I thank you for that small, but significant contribution.

Take care, my friend.

They will cut off federal funds and O will cave

reply to post by Homedawg


Interesting thought, but I'm not believing that one of the major tourist airports will close. Not to mention, Orlando has one of the largest Convention Centers other than those in Vegas.
So, no. I'm not seeing this happening, but I'm sure it will be privatized sometime in the near future though.

If they start painting murals on the walls like those at the Denver airport, it's time to get the heck outta Dodge!