The federal government soon will hire a security director to fill the role of chief protector of airline passengers and aircraft at Pittsburgh International Airport.
The newly formed Transportation Security Administration has begun recruiting people with extensive backgrounds in security and crisis prevention to work at the nation's 81 largest airports.
"There's no definite timeline, but they will start in late February or early March — as soon as possible," said Paul Takemoto, a spokesman for the new agency.
The person hired at Pittsburgh International will instantly take control of crucial airport operations, overseeing screening of passengers, baggage and cargo. The agency also is charged with protecting aircraft and restricted areas of the airport.
The director will be paid an annual salary of between $104,800 and $150,000 by the federal agency. The U.S. Department of Transportation will begin collecting a $2.50 passenger fee on Feb. 1 to pay for new security actions.
The security director, however, will not report to Kent George, executive director of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which runs both Pittsburgh International and Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin. George was not available for comment on Wednesday.
The director will manage a staff, of an unknown size, that will eventually include checkpoint screeners and possibly some Federal Aviation Administration employees who may be transferred into the new agency.
US Airways, the airport's dominant carrier, pays Huntleigh USA Corp., a St. Louis security firm, to operate the security checkpoint in the Landside Terminal. Under the federal security law signed by President Bush in November, that role will be taken over by the new agency.
Huntleigh spokeswoman Jessica Neal said the company's contract with US Airways will be transferred to the federal government in mid-February. The security administration assumes control of aviation security nationwide on Feb. 17.
However, Huntleigh will continue working at Pittsburgh International for an indefinite period as the federal agency has not revealed how it plans to "federalize" screeners, a part of the new law.
"We don't know how they're going to do it," she said. "They're just trying to take one step at a time."
Neal guessed the roughly 300 Huntleigh employees working at Pittsburgh International will be allowed to apply with the new security agency. If accepted, they then would resign from their current jobs, she said. Huntleigh employs about 5,000 people at 40 airports nationwide.
Roughly 30,000 people will work for the new agency, which largely will be run from each individual airport by each director rather than from a central office in Washington, D.C., Takemoto said.
Ken Fulton, county police superintendent, said his officers based at Pittsburgh International will work with the new security agency and follow the new federal regulations.
"We'll work hand in hand with whatever the federal government decides in terms of airport security," Fulton said. "We'll do whatever it takes to help make the airport safe."
Initially, the agency will hire directors for the nation's 81 largest airports, which includes Pittsburgh International. Filling similar posts for the balance of the nation's 429 airports will come later.
On Monday, Bush appointed former Secret Service chief John Magaw as undersecretary for transportation security. Magaw will oversee the Transportation Security Administration, which will be responsible for transportation security nationwide.
