Airport Turns to Volunteer Plane Spotters for Added Security

Airports in Chicago, Phoenix and Miami turn to plane spotters as additional help in maintaining airport security.

Nearly a dozen American airports are enlisting a new level of travel security, armed only with cameras and cell phones to report trouble. Miami Fox affiliate WSVN-TV reports Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is one of the airports having success turning to airplane spotters as an extra line of help around the airport.

At FLL, the “Airport Watch” is considered a part of the overall security plan at the airport. Volunteers go through background checks and security training prior to being assigned to the team. Once complete, the plane spotters are invited to combine their hobby for taking photographs of commercial aircraft with the team’s mission of keeping the airport secure by reporting suspicious incidents.

So far, the experiment at FLL has paid off in dividends. When a Dynamic Airways Boeing 767 caught fire in October, the members of the FLL Airport Watch were among the first to report the incident. Airport officials credit the aircraft photography enthusiasts as an extra set of eyes that can help keep airports safe and secure throughout the year.

“Doing the job that I do, you can’t not think that people can do what they did in Paris, that there couldn’t be other people wanting to do similar things in the United States,” Greg Meyer, an official from the Broward County Aviation Department, told WSVN-TV. “We know that airports have vulnerabilities, at the same time we have a lot of security.”

The idea of using plane spotters to help improve security is spreading to other airports as well. Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) also have similar programs in place, with the mission of helping airports maintain better security.

[Photo: Getty]