…Airfield Owner Defiant…

David Wartofsky, owner of Potomac Airfield, told AVweb yesterday that he is working to get the situation rectified. He says the security procedures he has put into place at Potomac are not exactly those prescribed by the TSA plan, but in fact are enhanced. “It’s like if they told you to use 25-watt light bulbs and instead I put in 100 watts,” he said. “It’s not what is in the plan, but it meets and exceeds what is in the plan.” He also said that he’s been caught in a Catch-22 because the TSA says the only approved procedures are the ones they sign off on, but then the agency won’t sign off on any of his requests for revisions to enhance the procedures. Wartofsky added that he is working through the White House and Congress to try to get clarification of whether the TSA has the authority to dictate to him what is acceptable for what he says is a “private security plan” that he has implemented in addition to the plan required by the TSA. “There’s no precedent for all this weirdness,” Wartofsky said. Kayser, of the TSA office, said: “Security for the national capital region is a shared responsibility. We must take steps to work together.”