The Transportation Security Administration Is An Integral Part Of Airports

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.

Shortly after 9/11 twelve years ago, the federal government created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to protect air travel and prevent similar attacks. In 2012, the TSA had a budget of $8.1 billion, and while it claims to improve airport security, it fails to do so. Additionally, their checkpoints are privacy-invasive and cumbersome, negatively impacting the air travel industry. For these reasons, the agency should be abolished.

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

If you have ever traveled on an airplane before, you would be familiar with the Transportation Security Administration, or more commonly known as the TSA. Founded in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks initially under the Department of Transportation and later placed under the Department of Homeland Security all in the name of making air travel safer for Americans. They are most commonly known for making you take off your shoes, separate your liquids, and walk through body scanners. Keep in mind that those are only the least invasive things that you may be subjected to while passing under their watchful (or perhaps not-so watchful) gaze. Many Americans will gladly accept these invasions of privacy as a necessity on the path to safer travel for themselves and their fellow travelers through thwarting potential terrorists. But the harsh reality of it is that the TSA does not

The attacks of September 11th, 2001 in New York and Washington DC shocked and horrified not only Americans, but the entire civilized world. Before that fateful Tuesday, airports had security, though it often was not standardized across airports. Also, the fact that the attackers used knives and box cutters rather than guns or grenades, which are more easily detected, seemingly made the attack more vicious and personal. The attacks did terrible physical damage to the targeted cities, and the loss of life was catastrophic. Pressed by the media and public, the United States government created entirely new departments in the wake of the attack to deal with terroristic activity within the United States, most notably the Department of Homeland Security

Most Americans were under the idea that terrorist attacks only occurred outside U.S. borders and were a non-issue here on the homeland. After the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, American realized that the homeland was not as secure as once thought. This tragic event brought with it a strong wake-up call for a much-needed check up on America 's security, in particular, airline security. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act passed by 107th Congress and signed on November 19, 2001 established TSA. Then, in March 2003, the TSA transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security (TSA, 2014).

As we already know that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2002 as a result of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Transport Security Administration is one of the agencies within the DHS tasked to provide security especially in the Nation’s Transportation Systems. TSA came into existence when congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), which gives “TSA regulatory authority and responsibility for security over all transportation modes” (Department of Homeland Security, 2007). The Nation’s transportation systems comprises of aviation sector, Maritime sector, mass transit and passenger rail, Highways and motor carriers, Freight Rail, Pipelines, commercial vehicles, etc. (Mayenschein, 2015). Each

According to allgov.com (2011), “The United States Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19, 2001 in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The act established the TSA and placed it in the Transportation Department, charging it with hiring security screeners at some 450 commercial airports within 12 months.” The TSA is responsible for the protection of the United States’ transportation system including, airports, airplanes, mass transit systems, highways, railroads, and ports. As an economy, American business and individuals depend on the United States’ transportation system for not only commuting to work, but for shopping, socialization, business, access the healthcare, among other things. Suffice it to deficiencies in the transportation system could cripple the United States’ economy. Since its inception in 2001, the TSA program has faced many issues and problems, including but not limited to turnover, mistreatment by

On September 9, 2001 there was series of terrorist attack that brought down World Trade Center in New York, Pentagon in Virginia, and a plane crash Pennsylvania. In result the United States 107th Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on Nov 19,

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, congress passed sweeping changes to the security of aviation and border protection in the United States. Three agencies were significantly impacted by these changes and the aftermath of 9/11: Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Federal Air Marshal (FAM). However, 14 years later is important to review the changes which were implemented by sweeping popularity following 9/11 and evaluate their effectiveness.

September eleventh, 2001 was a tragic day for not only the people of New York, but around the world. These attacks would shape America’s security, tourist industry, and the economy. The most immediate change was airport security, which is fully visible to this day ( Doc. 1). Congress federalized airport security by passing the Aviation and Transportation Act, and created the Transportation Security Association, commonly known as TSA. Airports around the globe have implemented more unyielding bag

For instance, in an effort to consolidate the security mechanisms within the Department of Transportation, President Bush signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) two months after the 9/11 attack in order to establish better security procedures (Blalock et al, 2007). Further, there was also the mandate on the Aviation and Transportation Security Act for the immediate alteration of security guidelines that are deemed to be weak and incapable of detecting terrorist acts. These important procedural changes are a) the federalization of passenger security screening in all commercial airports in the United States and b) the screening all checked baggage (Blalock et al, 2007). While the overall effect of the implementation of these guidelines to the passenger sentiments is yet unclear during the initial stage, it was implemented with the objective that it can provide better confidence towards the security strategies in air travel. One thing is for sure though, as President Barack Obama declared that “justice has been done” upon the news of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden’s death, there are economic challenges that face the airline industry (Wahl, 2011). The passenger sentiments towards the security system in the airlines certainly affected the number of flights

These incidents show that the Transportation Security Administration is another bureaucratic agency that is incapable of providing proper airport security and has so far gotten lucky that another terrorist attack using airliners has not occurred. In this paper I will illustrate that the TSA is not the best vehicle to provide airport security and will offer some suggestions on how to improve security at airports.

TSA, or Transportation Security Administration, needs to be improved. It is time consuming, invasive and often ineffective because of pat downs and body scans. TSA is a major part of American airport security. In a world where such precautions are necessary, the system should be vastly upgraded to actually provide the security it claims to give.