ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orlando police are now openly carrying their long guns while on patrol at Orlando International Airport, and there will be discussions about making another highly-visible change in security.
A vulnerability assessment pointed out security concerns at Orlando International Airport.
An airport source told Channel 9’s Kathi Belich that the Transportation Security Administration had mandated that the Airport Authority do the assessment, and that once the vulnerabilities were identified, TSA asked that they be addressed, which they were, officials said.
The vulnerability assessment was underway at the airport before the bombings at the airports in Brussels and Istanbul.
The vulnerabilities are being kept confidential for security reasons, so it’s not known whether a lack of bollards at the airport was one of them, but Channel 9 was told the issue was discussed.
Bollards would prevent vehicles from breaking through the terminal building.
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, who is on the Airport Authority Board, said the assessment was not discussed at any board meetings.
She said the terror attack in Nice, which was carried out with a truck that plowed into a crowd of people, could be a catalyst for adding bollards at the airport.
“It wouldn’t have been on my radar screen probably a couple of months ago, but we are constantly evolving about ways people can attack our citizens and some of our most vulnerable assets,” said Jacobs.
She expects discussion about bollards to happen soon.
“It will probably be something that will be talked about at our next meeting,” Jacobs said.