New report details security breaches at major airports

A new report released this week shows security breaches at a lot of the country’s major airports, including two that are used by a number of local travelers.

The Associated Press report found more than 270 security breaches between 2004 and 2015. Of those, 57 happened at either San Francisco International or Mineta San Jose International, both of which ranked in the top five for breaches. None were reported at the much smaller Monterey Regional Airport.

“Safety and security are two of our biggest mandates,” Mark Bautista, deputy general manager of the Monterey Regional Airport, said. “So we’re always trying to keep it safe, we’re always trying to keep it secure and there are always challenges to that.”

The biggest challenge is the ongoing construction at the airport. Construction workers have their own entrance into the airport.

“In this case, its Highway 68,” Bautista said. “There’s a special gate that’s created. In addition, there’s a guard there every time it’s opened, and that guard keeps a log. And that guard has a name of all the authorized people that can come through that gate. And if that person’s name isn’t on that list to be authorized, they don’t get into the airport.”

There are also cameras posted along the fence lines, with daily inspections to check for any tampering. Airport officials credit working together for stopping breaches but said they know that the system isn’t perfect.

“The perfect fence hasn’t been built so if someone truly wants to defeat a fence, they probably can,” Bautista said.