Already a leader in aviation safety, the Houston Airport System (HAS) is now incorporating another layer of security at George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and William P. Hobby airports. As of the last day of April 2008, all cab drivers picking up passengers at Houston’s two primary airports will be required to present an authorized airport security badge. This new measure is an extension of the Houston Airport System’s current badging policy, which requires all airport workers, including HAS employees, tenants and contractors, to obtain and display valid identification badges while working in and around the airports’ perimeters. Post 9/11, this administrative policy was put into effect to increase the level of security at all three of the city’s primary airports. “We wanted to be proactive about targeting any potential vulnerability we might have had at that point, and that continues be our mission today,” says Frank Haley, interim deputy director of public safety and information technology for the Houston Airport System. “Properly identifying independent contractors who provide transportation services for our passengers is a matter of customer service and safety. It benefits all of us to know who is working in and around our airports.” Cab drivers are the latest group to be required to obtain authorized airport badges. Other groups that have already been badged include limousine drivers, SuperShuttle operators, various contractors and the 800-plus horseback-riding volunteers known as the Airport Rangers. Among other requirements, obtaining an airport badge involves passing a background and criminal history record check. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the federal agency that conducts these record reviews and provides the airport system with a positive or negative evaluation of the applicant’s qualifications. “Our approach to security has always been staying ahead of the pack, and incorporating a ‘high tech, high touch’ approach to airport safety” adds Haley.

© Houston Airport System Safety and Security. By April 30, 2008, all cab drivers picking up passengers at Bush and Hobby airports will be required to carry a valid identification badge issued by HAS.

“We have been the first to take on many new initiatives as a result, and have also been awarded the privilege of piloting new programs and technologies.”

Last year, the departments of state and homeland security designated IAH as the first Model Port in the nation. Under the Model Port initiative, the airport is serving as an example to the rest of the country’s airports on how to better serve the international community upon their arrival into the United States. Multilingual pamphlets, employees and video communications offer foreign travelers information about the customs process before they arrive at a processing booth at the Federal Inspections and Services facility at IAH.

Other recent innovations launched from Houston, include the first-ever deployment of the Aigis Blast Protection IU1200 threat containment units, in the world, at all of the TSA security checkpoints at Bush and Hobby airports. These transportable units allow HAS to remove potentially explosive materials from the airport environment without having to vacate terminal areas.

In addition, the Airport Rangers are a group of horseback-riding volunteers who patrol the thousands of acres inside of the airports’ perimeters. The more than 800 individuals who participate in this initiative are all badged and trained to report any suspicious behavior or activities to the airport system’s public safety personnel. Behavior pattern recognition training is also another safety method employed by HAS.

To accommodate the latest security requirement, a work station has been setup at the taxicab staging area, at IAH, for cab drivers to access the required documentation they will need to obtain a badge. Standard fees for obtaining a badge are also being waived for this group.

Independent contractors who do not work directly for a taxicab company may obtain an authorized identification badge by soliciting a signature authority for their application from the Houston Airport System.

Cab operators dropping off passengers at Bush and Hobby will not be required to obtain an airport badge, since they do not have to wait in queue at the staging area before traveling to the terminals to pick up arriving passengers. By law, anyone can drop off individuals at the airport regardless of whether they are doing so for commercial purposes or not.

For more information about the airport badging process, please Click Here.

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