B O S T O N, Oct. 2 — Massachusetts acting Gov. Jane Swift today replaced Logan Airport's director of public safety and ordered 150 more state troopers to enhance security at the nation's 17th busiest airport.Logan was the airport from which two of the four commercial airliners hijacked on Sept. 11 departed. Those two planes slammed into the World Trade Center. Although there was never any evidence that hijackers breached airport security, Logan has felt something of a stigma ever since.
During a televised address to the state tonight, Swift announced the selection of John DiFava, 49, to become the interim head of security at Logan. DiFava, head of the Massachusetts State Police, would serve for 45 days while a committee studying Massport, which runs Logan, will seek a permanent security chief.
"[DiFava's] appointment reinforces the measures we've already taken, including an unprecedented number of state police and federal agencies patrolling the airport's roads, terminals and parking lots," Swift said at a press conference. "Airport security is the one area that demands a single, clear source of direction and control. To protect all Americans, this requires a national approach."
Swift did not mention by name the man DiFava will replace, Joe Lawless, who was reassigned to oversee security at the Port of Boston. Lawless' transfer amounts to his ouster, following two serious breaches of airport security.
Last Saturday, three passengers on a US Airways flight to Pittsburgh were sent to an unmanned security checkpoint in Logan's Terminal B. They were able to proceed to their gate without being stopped or passing through a metal detector. When they were discovered, all the passengers in that terminal who had passed security had to leave and re-enter, which took nearly two hours.
Checkpoint Security Under Scrutiny
Last week, Massport officials confirmed that undercover state police had succeeded in passing through security checkpoints with a knife and bullets on Sept. 20.
Checkpoint security is actually the airlines' responsibility. A spokesman for US Airways told the Boston Herald the incident was a "security concern."
But after the highly publicized imposition of what were billed as tough, security measures at Logan, the security breaches were a political embarrassment to Swift.
When Logan re-opened Sept. 15, Massport said its security would exceed even what the Federal Aviation Administration required. It included random luggage inspection, increased scrutiny at checkpoints and stationing state police and federal agents inside the terminals.
Even before the Sept. 11 attacks, Logan had a reputation for lax security. During the 1990s, FAA investigators were able to bring more than 200 hidden weapons through Logan security checkpoints during tests.
In her speech, Swift called for the federalizing of airport security. She said, if the federal government did not do so, she would seek to have the state take over airport security in Massachusetts.
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