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Yesterday, the Transportation Security Administration commemorated their 20th anniversary of the federalization of Ithaca Airport in Tompkins County.
TSA was launched at the airport 20 years ago, September 12th, 2002. TSA officers began to work the security checkpoint one year after the September 11th terror attacks.
“The Transportation Security Administration was created 20 years ago approximately one year after the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.” said Bart R. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Ithaca Tompkins International Airport and 12 other airports situated across the state. “The mission of the TSA is to protect our nation’s transportation system by outmatching a threat that has evolved since September 11.”
Back in November 2001, the Aviation and Transportation Act (ATSA) became law, which formally established the TSA. When it was first formed, only about 100 people worked for the TSA; today, there are about 60,000 employees nationwide.
There are currently TSA 20 employees who work at the Ithaca Airport.
In the intervening years since launching, TSA has developed and implemented strong security procedures, built a well-trained and highly skilled professional workforce, and introduced a wide array of state-of-the-art technologies to screen passengers, baggage and cargo.
