Federal Aviation Administration (TSA)

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

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.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics a total of 631,939,829 passengers boarded domestic flights in the United States in the year 2010. This averages to 1.73 million passengers flying per day (Cessoni.) All of these people must go through security checkpoints provided by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA.) TSA’s history, cost, and specific purpose are ideas I will discuss further.

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

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created on November 19, 2001, and was signed into law by the 107th Congress (NMAH, 2011). The TSA was created to strengthen the security of transportation systems while allowing free movement of people and trade (NMAH, 2011). In recent years the administration has seen a lower budget due to the removal of three programs and the money will be diverted to fund the wall on the Mexico border (Halsey, 2017). Slow screening times from TSA are causing people to miss their flights due to the large lines. Also, numerous items of contraband are not being detected by the

Airport security in the post 9/11 era is designed to create the illusion of safety, without actually protecting us from terrorism. It is important to recognize, that the TSA is incredibly ineffective, at preventing prohibited items from getting past its gates. In a recent test at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, undercover federal agents successful snuck in 95 percent of explosive materials, fake weapons and drugs. While this failure rate is certainly alarmingly high it is by no way unique. In a similar, but slightly broader Homeland Security investigation, the TSA failed 67 out of 70 tests conducted by the department’s Red Team across a variety of cities. Furthermore, the layout of security at airports is incredible ineffective. According to renowned security expert, Rafi Sela, “security should happen in rings, so different teams can check each other’s work.” However, in American Airports the only place that security happens is at one checkpoint.

Now they want to upgrade their technology because “Before 9/11, most checked luggage, particularly on domestic flights, went straight onto the plane without being scrutinized for explosives” (Peterson). This means that it was a higher risk for people bombing the airports or other places. By upgrading their technology now airport securities are going to be safer for people traveling.

Through the history of aviation the importance of airport security has steadily increased. Since the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, many changes have taken place at airports to prevent such an attack from occurring again. The purpose of this paper is to: outline airport security procedures, discuss the different technologies involved with airport security, as well as examine the components of airport security. In addition I will also discuss the Transportation Security Administration’s role in our nation’s airport security.

Body: Air travel is a fast and convenient way to reach a destination. Even if many passengers may complain of missed flights, delays during the holidays, and the number of carry-ons they are allowed to bring onto the plane, air travel is an important part of quick transportation. One essential part of the airport system is security. Today, security is a major priority that airports must administer strictly. Due to the recent terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, airports along with airlines want their customers to feel safe. An interest in airport security took me to the Tallahassee Regional Airport. Except for the

The Transport Security Administration (TSA) is an American agency which is under the Department of Homeland Security and it has the authority and control of all the traveling public in the USA. It was formed as a reaction to the September 11, terrorist attacks in the country. It was created under the Aviation and Transport Security Act which was supported by Don Young who was a House of representative member. It was employed into law by President George Bush on November 19, 2001. It was first placed in the Department of Transportation, later on, it was placed in the Homeland Department. The agency is mostly concerned air travel and the provide the screening activities in the airport, ensure ad provide armed Federal Air Marshal’s on different planes and ensure there is no illegal weapon which may cause harm to the people on board. They also maintain a system of the wanted individual and the ones which might cause security risk in the aviation industry. They ensure that these individuals are not permitted in any airport for security purposes (Grover, 2015).

The Transportation Safety Administration, known as the TSA, was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to defend the U.S. against further attacks using our airlines. They use preventative measures in an attempt to apprehend attackers before they can get to the planes. Since they cannot practically screen every person who goes into the airport thoroughly enough to ensure they are not a threat, they use systems such as SPOT and FAST to select only people that are more likely to be a threat. These systems have no scientific backing. The TSA’s mission statement is to “protect the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce” and “ provide the most effective transportation security in the most efficient

The system did not protect against suicide bombing or hijacking. The prescreening system has since been expanded to protect against these threats by triggering a secondary screening of passengers and carry-on items. The checkpoint-screening technology used on September 11, 2001, received very little improvement since the 1970s; therefore, the technology was very limited in its capabilities. One goal of the TSA was and still is to correct the vulnerabilities of screening technology. Eventually, Whole Body Imaging, or WBI, machines were developed to remove the vulnerabilities of the screening process. However, WBI scanners struggle to gain acceptance by passengers because of many believe the machines invade one’s privacy due to the high resolution, reveling images of the passenger. Health precautions also are factors in people’s reluctance to use the machine. Many people fear that possibility of being irradiated by the x-rays used by the machines. When going through airport security today, one will be given the choice of using the WBI scanner or have a pat down by a TSA officer. The 9/11 Commission called for the addressing of human factors issues at screening checkpoints. Human factors issues that need to be addressed included screener selection and training, fitness for duty, and human interaction with screening technologies. To improve the issues in this area, universities and

Many years ago airport security was not even an issue. People felt secure and safe and rarely worried about being searched. As time went on, the prevealance of terrorism became an increasing issue. There began more acts of terrorism by threatening and holding hostages on board commercial planes. As these acts continued, the government as well as citizens became vulnerable and an airport safety procedure was implemented as a way to ensure the safety of the United States. The implemented procedures over the years included a check and scan of all carry on and checked baggage, body scans, hire government airport employees, and a strict list of carry-on items. This made travelers feel safer as it decreased the ability of terrorist to commit

September 11 attack changed our world, the peaceful society we have been nurturing for so long is forced into a war against terrorism. This fact has affected us in more than one way. The one under discussion is the way we travelled. After the formation of Transportation Security Administration, many of us are spending a lot of time in security check queues before boarding an aircraft. As a solution to this problem TSA has launched a TSA PreCheck program to let eligible low risk travelers pass through the security screening faster at a nominal fee of $85 for five years. However, many customers consider this is an expensive program.

increased its efforts in protecting its airports. At that time, “the security scanners already in place in most airports included baggage x-rays, metal detectors, and chemical residue detectors, which help security staff search out illegal items that a passenger might have” (DiLascio). These security scanners unfortunately failed in their job. Since then, the Transportation Security Administration has been keeping American airports safe using the latest technology. Airports have now been fitted with high-tech body scanners rather than the archaic metal detectors that only detect metal objects. During the past few years, individuals have attacked the