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Posted on 10/21/2001 7:13:00 AM PDT by veronica

Boston airport hires ex-El Al security chief

By Leslie Miller, The Associated Press

BOSTON - The former security director for Israel's El Al Airlines has been hired to improve safety at Logan International Airport.

Logan's security has been scrutinized since terrorists hijacked two planes departing from Boston on September 11th and crashed them into New York's World Trade Center.

Rafi Ron was one of two consultants hired by the Massachusetts Port Authority. Besides working for El Al, he directed security at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv from 1996 until earlier this year.

"Ben-Gurion is probably one of the most secure, if not the most secure, airports in the world," Massport executive director Virginia Buckingham said.

Also hired was Len Limmer, a former deputy executive director of operations at Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

After the terrorist attacks, Massport's security director, Joseph Lawless, was reassigned to oversee security at the Port of Boston.

Also, US marshals, state police and National Guardsmen have been posted at Logan's checkpoints, and the airport is installing hundreds of security cameras.

Massport is considering installing at Logan a facial recognition system that scans the faces of passengers to see if they match suspected criminals.

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