Boeing

The Boeing-Siemens airport security team announced today that in coordination with both airport and Transportation Security Administration officials it has completed installing explosive detection equipment for checked baggage at 200 airports across the nation.

The federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which oversees security for the nation's transportation systems, is responsible for the staffing and operation of the equipment that will screen all baggage checked by millions of passengers at 429 U.S. airports. The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA] and Siemens (NYSE:SI) team was selected by TSA to lead this project because of its expertise in large systems integration and baggage handling.

The team is delivering, installing and conducting final testing of Explosives Detection Systems, or EDS, and Explosives Trace Detection, or ETD, machines, and training machine operators. Teams of engineers have visited every commercial airport in the nation to assess what work is necessary and consult with airport officials. Designs have been drawn for all airports.

"The delivery of the EDS and ETD machines and final site acceptance testing at 200 airports is a significant milestone," said Rick Stephens, vice president of Boeing's Homeland Security and Services group, a unit of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "Our top priority is to restore confidence among the traveling public in the commercial aviation system."

James M. Loy, acting under secretary of transportation for security, commended the team for making significant progress on an aggressive schedule to improve security at the nation's airports.

"We are well on our way to achieving our goal of screening all passengers and luggage to provide greater security for the traveling public as efficiently as possible," Loy said. "The Boeing-Siemens team has done an excellent job of quickly and efficiently designing and implementing the baggage screening systems."

Boeing and TSA first deployed EDS/ETD equipment to five airports to test the baggage screening protocol. These airports include: Dallas Love Field, Dallas, Texas; Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Norfolk International Airport, Norfolk, Va.; and Hagerstown Regional Airport, Hagerstown, Md. Those are completed and work continues at the fifth site in Jacksonville, Fla.

The 100th airport was completed Nov. 2, and the 200 threshold was crossed Monday, 16 days later.

The Boeing-Siemens team is responsible for designing, installing and maintaining the new EDS/ETD system at the nation's airports. Boeing is the lead contractor on the project, and is developing plans that are unique for each airport and overseeing the architectural design and construction for the government-provided EDS/ETD systems. Boeing will install up to 1,100 EDS machines and approximately 5,000 ETD devices to screen the more than 1 billion pieces of luggage checked annually by the 2 million travelers who fly each day.