The Transportation Security Administration took steps Friday to fire 36 screeners and bosses at Hawaii's Honolulu International Airport after an investigation substantiated allegations that bags were allowed on planes without proper screening.
The firing is believed the biggest in the agency's history, and officials said it underscores that they will not tolerate employees who compromise security.
In March, Honolulu's KITV 4 News reported that TSA officers assigned to a morning shift regularly allowed checked bags to be loaded onto flights on nine daily departures without being screened for explosives. Sources told the TV station that the lapses occurred for as long as four months and involved thousands of checked bags. CNN confirmed the investigation.