January 23, 2004
Families can now send off service members at airport gates
By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer
Military families seeing their troops off to a combat zone can now wait with
them at airport gates, rather than saying goodbye at security checkpoints.
In a Jan. 16 memo, Transportation Security Administration officials asked
all federal security directors to work with airports and airlines to determine
how to allow family members to accompany troops to the gates, said Amy von
Walter, a TSA spokeswoman.
The memo doesn’t address family members who are waiting in airports to pick up service members flying in from combat zones for R&R and other reasons, she said.
It also refers specifically only to family members and relatives, not friends, she said.
Von Walter said the change is in place, but practices may vary from airport to airport.
“In most cases, airlines are issuing passes to family members to present at the checkpoint,” she said. Family members should check with their airlines about procedures.
The change was made, she said, after Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, requested an exemption for military family members.
“Obviously, we’re sensitive to the plight of the soldier and wanted to do whatever we could to ease the departure for them and their families,” von Walter said.
Kevin Schweers, a spokesman for Hutchison, said the senator became aware of the issue when traveling through the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, one of the airports that has played a major role in the return of troops for R&R and other reasons.
In a press release, Hutchison praised the quick response of acting TSA Administrator David Stone to the letter she had sent Jan. 14, two days before the memo was issued. Stone is a retired Navy rear admiral.
In her letter, Hutchison noted that “scheduling military charters has proven difficult. These flights often arrive between six and 20 hours late, and at least five have departed between 12:00 and 2:00 a.m.
“I greatly admire those who dedicate their lives to defending our freedoms, and believe they should be allowed to remain in the company of their families until they board the plane,” she wrote.
“This is a nice thing to do,” said Joyce Raezer, director of government relations for the National Military Family Association. “It would be really nice if they could be there when the [service member] got off the plane, too,” she said. “I think this should be allowed both for picking up the service member and waiting with them. It’s very difficult for people with children. At least if they come to the gate, they can sit.”
