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November 9, 2005
The Honorable Tony Cardenas Chairman Committee on Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Los Angeles City Council 200 N. Spring Street, Room 455 Los Angeles, CA 90012
Dear Chairman Cardenas:
During today's meeting of the Committee on Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources, the agenda includes a discussion of the recommendations contained in the Rand Corporation's report from February 3, 2005 entitled "Near-Term Options for Improving Security at LAX .. "
Like you, members of the Air Transport Association (ATA) 1 are united in our support of creating a safer and more secure LAX that maintains a high degree of customer service. We believe these objectives are not mutually exclusive, but are characteristics that should reflect LAX's standing as the world's number one origin and destination airport. We renew our pledge to work with you, your Committee, Rand and LAWA toward the development of cost-justified initiatives which are based on identified risks .
When the Rand report was released last year, ATA made public statements expressing the industry's reservations with several of the report's recommendations. We continue to be concerned with the report's focus on staffing requirements as a means of achieving greater security at LAX when in fact there are certain facility and TSA policy constraints that require greater attention in pursuit of the overall goal. We are hopeful that these
1 The members of the Association are: ABX Air, Alaska Airlines, Aloha Airlines, American Airlines, Astar Air Cargo, ATA Airlines, Atlas Air, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Evergreen International Airlines, Federal Express Corp., Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, , Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Polar Air Cargo, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, United Parcel Service, and US Airways; associate members are: Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air Jamaica, and Mexicana de Aviaci6n. issues will receive proper and thorough consideration in order to implement the most cost-efficient and cost-effective security measures possible at LAX.
For this reason, ATA intends to be actively involved in the process to develop a security action plan consistent with the recently-approved contract awarded to Rand by the LAWA Board of Airport Commissioners. And, we encourage your Committee to withhold taking any further action related to the first Rand report until this process is completed. We anticipate providing you with additional comments as the Rand study proceeds.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for your interest on this most important issue of creating a safe and secure LAX. We applaud your efforts and look forward to working with you in the future. I would be happy to visit with you on this subject at your convenience.
Robert L. Dibblee Managing Director State and Local Government Affairs