Behind-the-Scenes Tour on Airport Security at BWI

February 27, 2007, BWI Airport
Contact: Washington Foreign Press Center Program Officer Wendy Lyle
Telephone: 202-504-6362; Email: lylewp@state.gov

Eight foreign TV and radio journalists from the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Spain got a unique, inside look at airport security operations at one of the nation's most sophisticated airports, Baltimore Washington International Airport.  The tour was part of Department of State and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on-going joint efforts to provide airport security information to foreign journalists and educate foreign travelers to the U.S.

The journalists received on-site briefings and demonstrations from U.S. officials representing the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), US-VISIT, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  They witnessed how advanced technologies screened bags and verified personal identities, and how dogs were trained to spot narcotics and explosives behind the scenes.  They eagerly engaged as many as twenty participating USG officers, and did numerous one-on-one interviews with John Peters, Acting Assistant Port Director for Passenger Operations, Timothy Keefer, Acting Chief Counsel at DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, TSA and CBP inspectors, DHS spokespersons and U.S. passengers at BWI.