The Change in Airport Security from 9/11

“After 9/11, the airport security became very strict and has over time, tried to become more efficient and practical for travelers.” said Jotterand.

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.

Before the 9/11 attacks, which changed how we travel, airport security was minimal, with just X-rays and metal detectors. No one got a body search, and almost no one’s carry on bag got checked. No aircraft was required to shut the cockpit door, and air marshals weren 't everywhere, only 33 Federal Air Marshals were active on 9/11. Friends and Family were authorized to go all the way to the gate, and people were allowed Swiss Army Knifes on flights. Everyone could arrive just minutes before a flight and no-one would be concerned.

Just recently there has been uproar over airport security and the use of body scanners on passengers. After 9/11 many airlines have toughen up their security measures in order to prevent this tragic accident to ever occur again. In order to improve security and make our lives a lot safer airlines have implemented many different types of technology. Technology aids airline security to see what passengers are possibly carrying under their clothing. Making passengers go through X-Ray screenings can not only prevent passengers from boarding a plane with harmful equipment but it can also deter the thought of someone actually making an attempt to board while carrying a weapon. Other technological advancements such as surveillance cameras are being

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 tragic event that occurred on September 11th, 2001 was something that changed our nation forever. Many people already know of the damage it caused: the massive death count, the complete destruction of the World Trade center, and the emotional havoc that plagued many people. It was something horrible that no person could ever forget, but amidst all of the negativity that 9/11 caused, positive changes can be found, predominantly changes that increased airport security throughout the United States. The changes that 9/11 caused affect the whole security process that you have to go through before you board an airplane. (list changes)

We as people examine the impact of post-9/11 airport security measures on air travel in the U.S. Using five years of data on passenger volume, we evaluate the effects of the implementation of baggage screening and the federalization of passenger screening on the demand for air travel. These two congressionally mandated measures are the most visible changes in airport security following the 9/11 attacks. Exploiting the phased introduction of security measures across airports, we find that baggage screening reduced passenger volume by about five percent on all flights, and by about eight percent on flights departing from

Since the beginning of aviation, aircraft have been used for other intentions besides carrying passengers and cargo. They have been used as weapons of war dating all the way back to the first world war, and the use of aircraft has enlightened the advancement of the aviation. “Throughout the history of aviation, the greatest progress in flight has been made during time when either war or the threat of war was present” (Millspaugh, et al., 2008, p. 33). However, the war we face today has been triggered by the deliberate use of aircraft to cause death, destruction, and mayhem.

Security officers learned a very large lesson on September 11, 2001; they learned that they needed to care about and perform their job to the best of their ability in order to safeguard our country.

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 September 11th attacks have had a profound effect on American history. Often referred to as “9/11”, these attacks were comprised of a group of organized terrorists known as Al-Qaeda. This extreme Islamic group assaulted several landmarks in New York City, Washington D.C, and the state of Pennsylvania. In New York City, two airliner jets were hijacked with passengers aboard and slammed into the World Trade Center. “The next attack resulted in a plane colliding into the Pentagon, government building; the last attack was in Pennsylvania when a plane crashed into a field. In total, 3,000 people died on September 11th, 2001” (History.com Staff). The September 11th-attacks have affected airport security by the new training of flight attendants, the formation of the Transportation Security Administration and new technical advances to keep up with increased terror threats.

Most employees were only required to show their I.Ds to surpass security in and around the building. Sharp objects like razors, scissors or tools weren’t seen as a threat. Even guns were allowed if you had the proper licensing and protective case to place it in. A common scenario at airports and train stations consisted of families and friends waving goodbye or welcoming tem with open arms as a loved one came home or set off on a new chapter of their life. Times have definitely changed, and for good reason. A majority of people are familiar with the world news that occurred on September 11, 2001 when two airplanes flew into the Twin Towers of New York, a massive terroristic attack that killed thousands of people in a matter of minutes. At the time of tis tragedy, there were many reports saying passengers on the crashing planes were in a hostile situation before the crash. Men from another country were aboard the plan with knives and took control of the pilot, freighted the passengers and ultimately crashed the planes in an orchestrated manner. These events caused a blood chilling wave across America and pushed the Bush Administration to take action in avoidance of tis ever happening again, this brought on the foundation of what we now know as the TSA in December of 2001, merely three months after the incident. President W. Bush was in office at the time and honorably placed John William Macaw as the Undersecretary of Transportation

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

Finally, the TSA is “hopelessly bureaucratic” according to Kip Hawle, a former TSA chief (Edwards, 2013). That bureaucracy often leads to extended retention of inefficient, ineffectual employees largely because the hiring and firing process is arduous. One study on TSA staff members suggests that employees may not take action because not adhering to the rules and regulations set forth comes with great penalties. Therefore, the employees are typically not free-thinking problem solvers, but people who want to complete their tasks without getting any attention. Unfortunately, this may lead to oversight if a terrorist threat does occur (De Gramatica, Massacci, Shim, Turhan, & Williams, 2017).

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