Aviation And Transportation Security Act: A Case Study

According to the former federal air marshal P. Jeffrey Black, “‘What we've got now is nothing but security theater, meaning all these bells and whistles that you see are only meant to make you feel safe.’” The documentary, “Please Remove Your Shoes,” argues that the TSA has grown into a “massive government bureaucracy with too much money” and “focuses on herding people through checkpoints as fast as possible and hires poorly-trained workers who dress up in uniforms and play cop.” Steve Elson was a security special agent with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He was hired to attempt to sneak guns, bombs, and other weapons past security. He got through security ninety percent of the time without his weapons being detected. Apparently, Elson said, the FAA did not validate his results because they only wanted him to try to pass security using a certain size gun (Mayerowitz). This reaction from the FAA was unacceptable to Elson because he knew that terrorists are crafty and unpredictable. As long as they have a different size gun than what the FAA planned for, they would more than likely pass security. One of Elson’s coworkers, Dzakovic, said that at most airports uncover bombs twenty percent of the time. “‘Usually the worse the results were that we had on any given project, the less we were tasked to test to see if they had improved,’ Dzakovic said.” To Dzakovic and Elson, their managers were incapable of acknowledging that their process might not be perfect. Another critic of the TSA is the House Representative John Mica. He said, “‘I helped create TSA and I've referred to it sometimes as either my b****** child or a monster that we've created, a bureaucratic monster. It didn't turn out exactly the way I

As an aviation management major airport security is a concern that I have taken a huge interest in. Making travel safer to air travelers is one of the biggest tasks that will never end as long as there is a plane in the sky. However, there are many problems that come about when traveling because passengers feel as if they are being harassed, which doesn’t set a good look for the Transportation Security Administration. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) consist of 50,000 security officers, inspectors, directors, air marshals and managers who protect the nation's transportation systems so you and your family can travel safely. They look for bombs at checkpoints in airports, they inspect rail cars, they patrol subways with our

According to Jason Villemez of the PBS News Hour, there were immediate changes to airport security following 9/11. Within 2 months of the attacks, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was passed. This law requires that every single bag is screened at airports andrequires that certain procedures are followed at every airport (Swickard). Before 9/11, scissors, baseball bats, darts, and 4-inch-long blades were allowed, but these are now illegal under the ATSA (O’Connor). The Aviation and Transportation Security Act also created the Transportation Security Administration known as the TSA (Tognotti). Each airport had to supply their own security before 9/11, but with the creation of the TSA, the government supplied security for airports (Villemez). Gabi Logan of USA Today found that the increase in security including baggage checks caused a six percent decrease in the number of passengers. Passengers chose not to travel at all or found a different way to get to their destination. While security in airports was significantly increased, 9/11 also affected millions of Americans involved in the war on terror”.

The Travel security agency, or the TSA, is an important agency whose job it is to protect our nation in airports and borders. Impressively, the Agency has stopped many weapons, and saved our citizens numerous times. According to several experts however, the TSA has never stopped a terrorist plot. Their methods have been questioned too. As our nation grows deeper and deeper in debt, the TSA is a huge cost that may need to be cut. In order to gain a clear understanding of the TSA, its successes, issues, and cost must be evaluated critically.

The September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks forever changed the way our air travel industry operates. It affected the government, the airlines, airports, employees, and passengers alike. There was not as much of a threat of terrorism before 9/11, so airport security was not nearly as thorough, and at times intrusive as it is today. Through the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration, the evolving threat of terrorism has not been successful in carrying out another 9/11 style attack.

As a response to the 9/11 attacks, one would expect that the TSA would improve airport security. In reality, it's just security theater. Originally, the use of metal detectors and luggage x-rays in airport security checkpoints was enough. However, on December 25, 2009, an inbound international

In November of 2001, the United States was still reeling from the attacks on September 11 of that same year. President George W. Bush created a new organization to prevent future attacks on American flyers. The organization was called the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA. The TSA was tasked with implementing security measures to protect travelers. At first, the measures were welcomed by the public. They were seen as a necessary measure to protect against future 9/11 style attacks. But now, 15 years later, the measures the TSA have put in place have been questioned repeatedly by members of the public, the press and congress. Incidents such as the Underwear Bomber, where a Nigerian

Surely the TSA has foiled some sort of terrorist plot in its nearly fifteen years of existence. But in reality, as far as we know, the TSA has not caught any! Nearly 200 million dollars a year goes into a hidden layer of airport security referred to as “behavior detection” which is where specially trained agents watch out for particular patterns of body language that might indicate that somebody is planning something malicious and apprehending them. However this supposed “vital layer” of security has done nothing more than catch drug smugglers and other such criminals. (CITATION 3) Which is great, but it was not drug smugglers that crashed planes into the World Trade Center. Adding more salt to the wound, an investigation conducted by the Government Accountability Office found in that sixteen individuals later linked with terrorist activities flew 23 different times through United States Airports and not a single one was stopped by the so called “behavior detection officers.” (CITATION

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, airport security went through major changes and procedures. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which oversees airport security

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011 prompted the world to reevaluate and drastically modify airport and airline security. “Four targets had been chosen, all iconic American buildings that would send a clear message of the depth of their hatred for the United States. All four planes crashed, killing all on board—terrorists, crew members, and passengers, along with hundreds who were killed inside the structures, on the ground, and the men and women who ran into collapsing buildings in an effort to try and save others” (Smutz 1). As Jason Villemez said “the decade after the 9/11 attacks reshaped many facets of life in America” (Villemez 1). Before the attacks, people did not think that large

“Oh, right, I haven’t told you yet. You know how we got attacked by terrorists with our own planes? Well, since then, the government formed the TSA. They make sure fliers are safe to travel by checking for banned items through a metal detector and a conveyor belt that screens your baggage. So nowadays we have to get to our flights earlier than usual because of this line.” Alfred quickly said. It’s amazing what the government can get done when people die from a terrorist attack rather than a homicide at a public school.

The first attempted hijacking of an airplane on US soil happened in July 1961 out of Chico Municipal Airport. From 1961 through 2016 there were about 10 major airline or airport attacks, worldwide. In 1969 a 19- year-old Marine had control of a flight for 6,900 miles, which was the longest lasting hijacking ever. Then in 1988, a bomb a Pan Am Flight 103 killed all 259 on board and an additional 11 bystanders on the ground. In 2011 a suicide bombing in a Moscow airport killed 37, and in 2016 three coordinated suicide bombings in the Brussels airport killed 32. Between 1968 and 1972 hijackers took over a commercial airline every other week on average. The 9/11 attack was the last straw and on November 19, 2001 the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was passed by the 107th Congress allowing President Bush to create the TSA. Its mission is to protect our nation’s transportation

On September 11th of 2001, nineteen militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. During this event, many people lost their lives and any people lost their loved ones. In spite of what had taken place on that horrible day, the events brought out some of the most genuine hearts and minds to work. The events occurring on September 11th was an eye-opener to say the least. These terrorist attacks made airports and airport security more aware and in a way have pushed airports to progress in security. Finding new and smart ways to find dangers and saving innocent people’s lives.

additions to airport security in the United States following the attacks of September 11, 2001, is

Airport security is necessary for the safety and efficiency of airlines today. Attacks involving airlines have been “among the deadliest in terms of human lives and economic impact,” even though relatively few attacks have occurred using airlines compared to other terrorism methods (Szyliowicz, 2011, p.2). Airport Security has been administered using a government-operated system since the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was enacted in 2001. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), now an agency of homeland security, replaced private security measures and personnel with at least 60,000 federal employees (Szyliowicz, 2011). However, privatization may be making a come-back. The following analysis will analyze