Improving Airport Security

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

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.

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

Airport security pre 9/11 was very unorganized which is what led to such a cotastrophy. The job of aviation security was largly dealt with by private security firms which led to incunsistency, and the FAA did an inadequarte job at keeping these inconsistencies in check. According to a 1987 FAA test 20% of dangerous items were missed by the airport screeners, and as time went on that percentage worsened “Test data for the 1991 to 1999 period show that the declining trend in detection rates continues.” (GAO, 2001a, p. 6). Due to this lack of organization 5 planes were able to be hijacked on the same day. This act of terrorism made apperant that that the job of aviation protection had to be taken out of the handss of the FAA and be made more of a federal issue. From

To begin with airport security has changed extremely since the September 11 attack. It was a normal day for New York City on September 11 when around 8:46 a.m. an United Airline Flight 11 crashed the north tower killing many people on board and in the building (A&E Television Networks). Then around 9:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175 crashed on the south tower also killing everyone on board and on the building and leaving many injured (A&E Television Networks). Many people lost family members and the attack left them missing their loved ones and till this day it still causes some effects. Ever since that day airport security has been much secured and the creation of Transportation Security Administration was made (Farecompare.com). TSA also known as

Airport security is now a long and tedious event everyone dreads at the airport. The reason for the wait and rules is the hijacking that took place that fateful day. Many outrageous rules come from this such as no full sized toothpaste tubes and water bottles over 16 ounces. This is undoubtedly saving many lives day to day and preventing another 9/11 scenario but also causes some disruption and dislike by the common population of America.

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.

Before 9/11, each individual airport handled all security issues and monitoring on their own. Shortly following 9/11, however, the United States created the Transportation Security Agency, or TSA. The Transportation Security Agency is responsible for updating safety procedures and policies; no shoes, liquids, and knives are a few examples of some of the security measures the TSA implemented after 9/11. Additionally, the TSA introduced new machines to detect threatening objects in passenger’s bags and clothes (Villemez). The TSA updates new security measures regularly to ensure the safety of everyone aboard the plane and, essentially, in the

The attacks on September 11, 2001 changed the United States airport, airplane, immigration, and visa security. Before 9/11 airports were minimally supervised and people could walk their friends and family all the way up to the gate, even if they were not going onto the plane. Two months after 9/11, the United States congress passed the Aviation and Transportation security act which created the Transportation Security Administration. “The new TSA implemented procedures that included stricter guidelines on passenger and luggage screening. Only ticketed passengers could go through security, and an ever-changing array of machinery and procedures were introduced to scan for weapons and destructive items. As new threats were discovered after 9/11, new procedures were introduced, including removing shoes and banning liquids.” (Pbs.org). New security was also implemented on planes themselves. New security on planes involved fortified cockpit doors. Along with this, pilots could register to become a federal flight deck officer, which would allow them to carry a loaded gun on board. These new laws about flying safety were much needed in a time where terrorism became more prevalent. Today it would be much harder for someone to put an airport or airplane in danger because of all the safety regulations. Also, The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act required the

In 1974, the United States Government passed the first act the ensure airport security with The Transportation and Anti-Hijacking acts (Poladian). As these two acts called for safer security it made it harder for airports because people became creative with sharp objects to hurt one another. “These two acts accomplished security for weapons, but it was not until 1988 did airports have to start worrying about bombs being brought on planes through luggage and passengers” (Poladian). The challenge that was brought upon airports where to make sure there were no explosives that could be brought on the planes because a passenger in 1988 put a bomb in his suitcase and resulted in a devastating crash. As for the government they did not pass a new law until 1990 saying that they would enforce airport security. In my opinion though it is a devastating thing that something bad has to happen at the airport in order for airport security to be stricter. Though the Aviation Security Act of 1990 still plays a big factor because it has created a safer airport environment for people to travel. Another view people look at when flying is if they feel they are not safe there is leeway that people won’t fly anymore if it is not safe

After 9/11/2001, things took place to help prevent any terrorist being able to use planes as a way of causing terrorist acts. After 9/11/2001 in November 2001, Transportation Security Administration was formed and the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was put into law. This act required screening that was going to be conducted by federal officials. TSA was to oversee all ways of transportation in the US. This is one way

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

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