Recent security cutbacks have left the Los Angeles International Airport vulnerable to terrorist attacks, according to a letter from an airport police union calling for a restoration of the security measures.
The letter, released Tuesday, is from Marshall McClain, president of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association, to Los Angeles Airport Police Chief George Centeno. The letter says that because of cost-cutting reductions in training, the deployment of traffic control officers and security in the central terminal, the airport is “more vulnerable to a terrorist attack than at any time since 9/11.”
Gina Marie Lindsey, the executive director of Los Angeles World Airports who is also copied on the letter, said in a statement Tuesday that “there is no evidence to support” McClain’s allegations, noting that the airport police budget “has increased annually since 9/11 and, from last fiscal year to this year, it increased nearly $3.4 million.”
Lindsey’s statement also emphasized the airport’s security, noting that “LAX remains one of the safest airports in the world and one of the safest areas in Southern California due to LAWA’s continuing commitment to staff, train and equip Airport Police.”
