Thesis on "Securing Commercial Air Travel"

Thesis 7 pages (2481 words) Sources: 7 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Securing Commercial Air Travel

Airline security has been compromised for years despite repeated attempts by terrorists to hijack airliners. Hijacking of aeroplanes to Cuba had become pretty common in the 1970s and airline crews were, in fact, trained to give in to the demands of the terrorists most of whom had political motives. Airliners had been reluctant to enforce high-level security since most of these needed expensive security procedures and often led to passenger inconvenience and flight delays. However, the events of 9/11 have changed the entire scenario. (Hulnick, 2004)

Commercial Air Travel Security Prior to 9/11:

a) Security Checks: Commercial airline security was quite lax prior to 9/11. Security checks were minimal both for passengers as well as cabin crew members. Passengers were asked to show their ID during check in and were asked merely two questions. These questions included whether the passengers had packed their own bags and whether they had seen their bags outside their control. Passengers were permitted to carry certain sharp objects on the plane like sharp scissors, pen knives and box cutters. The checking of shoes with a metal detector was rare. Passengers could arrive at the airport minutes before the flight without having to bother about delays resulting from security checks. (Hulnick, 2004); ("Airport security before 9/11," n. d.)

It was common for friends and family members to accompany passengers to the gate to see them off. It was not mandatory for crew members to display their IDs and they were permitted to directly board the planes. They were not allowed to carry any kind of weapons on board. The cockpit doors used in some of the planes were weak and could be broken into. Passengers were permitted to use the toilet which was in close proximity to the cockpit. Airlines allowed the attendants to use sharp objects for cutting up food and also served hot food on cross-country trips. Many airlines did not bother to scan each and every bit of luggage that went aboard. The use of air marshals was quite common in the seventies. However, with a reduction in the threat perception this practice was discontinued. (Hulnick, 2004); ("Airport security before 9/11," n. d.)

b) Security Agencies: Gate security for airlines was provided by private firms. Many of the security screeners hired by such firms were not adequately trained in detecting potential threats such as bombs, guns, sharp weapons or biological weapons in the luggage and on passengers. As a result of unattractive salaries and related benefits, employee turnover was big and this often led to the recruitment of inexperienced and unskilled workers. In a security drill carried out in May 2000, agents from the Department of Transportation Inspector General bypassed the entire security setup at two airports carrying fake badges and credentials. (Hulnick, 2004); (Taylor; Steedman, 2003)

c) Threat Perception before 9/11: The biggest threat perception in airline security before 9/11 was that terrorists would hijack planes possibly with the help of firearms, bypass security checks with the help of accomplices, impersonate as airline maintenance crew or food service crew and conceal weapons onboard before the flight took off. Despite these fears, little was done to conduct background checks on workers who had the authority to access the planes before take-off. (Hulnick, 2004)

II. Security Lapses on 9/11:

a) Security Failure: The events of September 11, 2001 woke up the Americans from the false sense of security that they had. As many as nineteen terrorists succeeded in breaching the several checkpoints at various places and boarded 4 different flights. The terrorists took ample time to plan, research, observe and organize the strikes without raising any suspicions. Airline security failed to notice that one of the hijackers, Mohammed Atta spent long hours watching security procedures at Logan Airport in Boston. The FAA -- Federal Aviation Administration and North American Aerospace Defense Command --NORAD were not only unprepared for such a calamity but they also ignored several intelligence reports prepared by FAA's security branch itself. (Taylor; Steedman, 2003); (Ridgeway, 2005)

b) Loopholes: The terrorists used cardboard box cutters as weapons to hijack the planes. Permission to carry such sharp objects aboard the plane turned out to be a fatal security loophole for many. The weak cockpit doors in the planes also helped the terrorists to gain access to the controls. (Taylor; Steedman, 2003); (Ridgeway, 2005) The terrorists did not have any luggage and bought one-way tickets. Moreover, they had paid cash for their tickets. None of these suspicious actions were noted and no action was taken by the airport security. (Hulnick, 2004)

III. Changes in Airline Security Post September 11:

a) Security Measures: During the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the federal government undertook various measures to tighten airline security. This included the signing of the ATSA or Aviation and Transportation Security Act. Under this act, the TSA or Transportation Security Administration was established. Among the several changes enforced in the security procedures in civil aviation, two of the most visible ones were the mandatory screening of each and every luggage and the taking over of all passenger security screenings at all commercial airports by the federal government. Other security measures include fortification of the cockpit doors and reintroduction and expansion of the Federal Air Marshal or FAM program. Another security measure which was later added as a part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 was the Federal Flight Deck Officer -- FDDO program. This involved deputing trained commercial airline pilots to protect the cockpits against any kind of breaches or armed violence. (Airline Pilots' Security Alliance, 2004); (Blalock; Kadiyali; Simon, 2005)

b) TSA: The Transportation Security Administration combined all the security efforts under the Department of Transportation. As part of these security measures, the TSA set up "158 Federal Security Director positions" that were entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the security processes in all the commercial airports located in the U.S. (Airline Pilots' Security Alliance, 2004); (Blalock; Kadiyali; Simon, 2005)

c) Department of Homeland Security: In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a new department named as the 'Department of Homeland Security -- DHS' was created. This department combined 22 different federal agencies and 160,000 federal workers into one single entity. (Hulnick, 2004)

IV. Flaws in the Outlined Airline Security Measures:

The FDDO program that the Congress envisioned received tremendous support from airline pilots as well as the public but the reality turned out to be vastly different. The invasive nature of the psychological screenings and background checks as well as TSA's threats to share this information with airline authorities and FAA has deterred many enthusiastic volunteer pilots from joining this program. It has been alleged that the protocols for carrying weapons by FDDOs is non-standard and unsafe and places them at a risk of being identified easily. Route restrictions and use of non-standard credentialing has also undermined this program. The screening of passengers and their luggage by TSA are basically viewed as government checkpoints and may be considered unconstitutional and infringing on the personal freedom of citizens. According to the Fourth Amendment searches and seizures, such checking has to be reasonable. Therefore, TSA screenings are basically part of a defective policy. (Airline Pilots' Security Alliance, 2004); (Committee on Houseland Security, 2007)

According to a confidential report prepared on the current state of airline security, security measures need not be expensive or complicated. Simple and inexpensive measures like having longer tables for carry-on luggage to be deposited during security checking, placing armed guards at checkpoints and ensuring that exit doors are locked after passengers deplane so that no terrorist can walk in, can ensure security. (Ridgeway, 2005)

According to some security experts, the TSA has placed too much emphasis on passenger screening leaving the aircraft exposed to attack from other spheres. Air cargo security is one such area neglected by security officials. The lower deck of most aircrafts can accommodate a significant volume of cargo in addition to passenger luggage. Each and every piece of this cargo is not screened unlike passenger baggage where 100% screening occurs. Other gaps in aviation security include the potential use of a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile by terrorists from areas adjoining the airport. Current technologies used for prescreening passengers may also fail to identify suspects who travel with false identities. (Kaplan, 2006)

V. Congress and Air Security:

a) Technological Advances?

: There has been a spurt in the development of foolproof security systems incorporating the latest technologies. One such technology which was set up at London's Heathrow airport involves eye scanning technology. The same technology was scheduled to be established at Washington's Dulles airport and New York's JFK airport. This automated iris recognition technology would help to detect suspicious travelers by matching the close-up picture of the iris with the criminal databases. ("Airport security in a blink," 2002) Another technology that was used by TSA after the events of 9/11 was to conduct "virtual strip searches." This technology, known as the "Backscatter X-ray" uses low-radiation X-rays to look for concealed weapons and explosives… READ MORE

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