Following an earlier grant of $7.8 million to eight airports in December 2003, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced a total of $8.2 million in grants to 10 more airports for terminal security enhancements including state-of-the-art video surveillance and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.
The current grants included $1.4 million to the Jacksonville Airport Authority to purchase and deploy an advanced video surveillance system.
Miami-Dade Aviation Department will receive $1.2 million to deploy and test "smart" video surveillance that detects and tracks individuals attempting to enter airport "sterile" areas. San Francisco Airport Commission received $484,000 for similar technology. Salt Lake City Department of Airports was awarded $924,000 to purchase and deploy a Web-based RFID system.
Port of Seattle will receive $1.25 million for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to purchase, integrate, and deploy radar-based technologies to verify a perimeter breach and better protect airport facilities.
In a separate announcement, TSA said it had awarded $8.2 million to 10 airports for a pilot program to test new technologies designed to ensure only authorized personnel have access to non-passenger controlled areas. These technologies include RFID tags and fingerprint biometric and iris biometric recognition systems.
