Statement by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Johnson Concerning Airport Security




January 16, 2017


Editor's note: On January 11, 2017 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published the following statement:


TSA Administrator Pete Neffenger and I call for Airport Operation Centers at the nation’s busiest airports.

The recent active shooter event at Fort Lauderdale International Airport, and the response to mistaken reports of an active shooter event at JFK Airport in August 2016, highlight the need for Airport Operations Centers, staffed by airport operators and security, local law enforcement, the airlines, as well as TSA and CBP, to manage security, incident response, as well as day-to-day airport operations. Airport Operation Centers improve communications and responses, and response times during security incidents, and in general promote unity of mission.

Recommendations for Airport Operations Centers came from two public area security summits held by DHS and from the multi-agency review (in which TSA participated) of the August 2016 incident at JFK airport.
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Information source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security