By MAC COLLINS
Congressman

WASHINGTON - As our nation reels from the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of Sept. 11, we also continue to feel the economic impact of those tragedies.

Most notably, we see those effects in the recent slew of airline layoffs. There is no doubt that Americans fear for their safety and are anxious about the thought of boarding an aircraft after terrorists used those vehicles as weapons of mass destruction.

However, in response to those cowardly highjackings, the nation's airports have heightened security to prevent a repeat of further incidents. It is arguable that because of the increased security, Americans are safer in the air than at any previous time in our history.

But, the airlines need to do more. Lines at the nation's airport security checkpoints are clogged by lack of personnel. Metal detectors stand empty, because airports lack manpower to open them.

Last week I traveled from Atlanta to Washington and paused to watch carry-on baggage back up on the x-ray conveyor belts, as harried security personnel carefully screened each and every passenger. Passengers were funneled into one or two checkpoints while others stood empty because of lack of personnel.

Because of a decrease in passengers, airlines across the nation have reported billions of dollars in lost revenues and are taking actions to reduce their costs by eliminating salaries for thousands of "extraneous" employees. In spite of a $15 billion Congressional bailout of the airlines, tens of thousands of flight attendants, reservation clerks, aircraft mechanics, and other airline employees are facing pink slips.

But the approach taken by the airlines fails to recognize that the result of those layoffs means individuals and families without the means to support themselves, which will have a significant impact on our national economy.

Layoffs mean millions of dollars of lost income to those individuals. The approach of laying off workers robs our economy of that lost income. Once that step is taken, we face an economic tailspin from which it may be difficult to recover.

An airline worker without a source of income cannot pay bills, they cannot make purchases, they are left as a burden to the taxpayer through unemployment programs, and in many cases are left to fend for themselves as best as they can. That loss of discretionary income spirals down to local merchants who then are left unable to pay vendors for goods and services. Those who depend on that income in turn are left short.

In the end, the airlines may create a greater burden for themselves by cutting these workers than they would have if they had kept them on. People with less discretionary income aren't able to purchase airline tickets.

A better solution would be to use the cash infusion provided by the Congress and the American taxpayer to retrain those personnel to assist in the added burden of heightened security. Shifting personnel from other tasks would allow airlines to man closed security checkpoints, relieving the congestion on an overburdened system. In time, as consumers gain confidence in the safety of the airlines, workers who are trained in multiple skills would be doubly valuable, as they could then be shifted to the area of greatest need.

Retaining these workers is the right thing to do for loyal employees, it is the right thing to do for the economy, and it is a good business decision.

[Mac Collins, a Republican, represents Georgia's Third District, which includes all of Fayette and Coweta counties, in the U.S. House of Representatives.]

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