Attendants Against Opening Pittsburgh Airmall To Shoppers

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IMPERIAL, Pa. (AP) - The Association of Professional Flight Attendants opposes a plan to allow non-flyers to shop at the Airmall at Pittsburgh International Airport.

The Airmall, a collection of shops and restaurants, has been off-limits to all but ticketed passengers since extra security was installed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The union wants the Transportation Security Administration to stop the Airmall plan - set to begin Tuesday - calling it "a bad idea." The attendants say the airport relies on "layered" security and opening the Airmall dangerously removes one layer.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority says that's "misinformed" because Airmall shoppers will have to go through security just like passengers and be checked against the same federal no-fly list.

Having the Airmall accessible to everyone was a major selling point when the airport opened in 1992.

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