I. Summary
Commercial airports have the option of using a government-operated system of administering airport security, or returning to privately owned and operated, contracted airport security organizations. While both serve a means of security, there is major ongoing debate on which should be implemented. Many people believe that a government-operated system revokes constitutional rights, and create more harm than good. However, people also believe that a privately owned and operated system will have many flaws, and will not provide the necessary security for airports. This analysis will compare the advantages and disadvantages of both systems.
II. Problem The problem is that with increased air traffic in the past decade, airline companies
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Alternative Actions
Alternative Action 1.
After the events that occurred on September 11th, 2001, Americans were petrified that those attacks could happen again. For that reason, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was passed, and the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, was born. Advantage 1. The main advantage of the TSA is the constant government oversight. The TSA receives roughly eight billion dollars from the U.S government annually. This money allows for the employment of over 50,000 personnel, and the use of state of the art X-ray machines in 450 airports nationwide. The TSA also partners with other government agencies, such as the FBI to conduct pre-flight passenger screenings. The FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center also partners with the TSA to determine a “no-fly” list, where nearly 16,000 individuals are deemed hazardous and are not allowed to fly in the United States. Since the TSA falls under the Department of Homeland Security, proper government oversight will continue, and Americans can be assured that they will be readily
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The main disadvantage of the TSA is the constant privacy infringement. Many people believe that the United States government had no right, according to the constitution, to illegally infringe on their privacy. The X-ray machines that the TSA currently uses to detect weapons, or explosives, causes privacy concerns. Another most recent privacy concern is TSA’s new “Pre-Check”, which allows passengers to pass through security checkpoints faster and with more ease. This requires a detailed background check for the passenger and also, they will have to surrender their fingerprints which can be used by law enforcement agencies.
Alternative Action 2. San Francisco International Airport implements a strict, and productive security system without the direct help of the government. Covenant Aviation Security is a privately owned and operated security agency within the SFO airport. Although they are contracted by the federal government, they are only overseen, and are not regulated by the TSA. Advantage 1. The main advantage of a privately owned and operated security system is that they can easily determine and address concerns at a single airport. Since private security firms are centralized at one location, they can easily determine employment needs. During peak seasons of the year, the company can hire more employees, and also regulate them during the off
Ever since that fateful moment, citizens in America are on their toes every day worrying about another attack happening. United States citizens have had to adapt and change in response to this fear of further terrorist assault on our country. One of the ways they have adapted is by changing their means of security concerning airline travel. Before the attacks on September 11th, Americans were under the assumption that an individual or group of individuals could not do such a devastating thing to humanity. Prior to 9/11, there was a lack of security in airports and on airplanes.
After 9/11 there was a great increase in security nationwide. One major example of this is the number of agencies created as a result of 9/11. Among these agencies include the creation of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), the DHS (The Department of Homeland Security), the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and lastly the massive advancement of the US Coast Guard. Every one of the budgets of these agencies has doubled since 9/11. The creation of the transportation and security administrations primary goal is to improve the safety of all American Citizens traveling by plane. The TSA started implementing, new policies and new technological advancements.
“What time should we leave? Two hours in advance? Three? Four?” Millions of people ask these questions each year before boarding a plane. Between driving, security, walking to the gate, and getting settled, boarding a plane exhausts travelers. But out of all of these different activities, one frustrates and restrains travelers the most: TSA security. People ask why they need all this security, complain about the inconvenience it causes, and ultimately annoys people to no end. Created after 9/11, Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, nationalized airport security, increased screening duration, and supposedly increases security on flights. However, statistics say these added security measures never come to fruition and potentially cost more lives than they save.
The security at airports has continued to tighten based on the numerous threats against the people of the United States. The greatest level of concern is the terrorist attacks on New York’s World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (Airport). After terrorists of Al Qaeda hijacked four planes and intentionally flew two of them in the World Trade Center, the government formed the Transportation Security Administration, TSA, to enforce rules of what someone could carry on a flight. The new TSA and rules though did not prevent others from threatening the country. Eight years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, Umar Abdulmutallab, known as the Christmas Day bomber, got on a flight while hiding a bomb in his underwear (Airport). In that incident, airport security did not have the ability to recognize the bomb. At the time of the incident, the metal detectors o...
The Patriot Act was created in the year of 2001, the same year that the tragic day, 9.11, occurred. On September 11th, 2001, 19 terrorists working for Al-Qaeda hijacked four planes, and caused this day to be forever remembered in the history of the United States. At 8:46 AM on September 11th, the first hijacked plane (American Airlines Flight 11) crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Specifically, it crashed into the 93-99th floors, trapping everyone on the floors above. Many people had doubts about this being a terrorist attack; they thought that it was just an accident. However, all of those doubts were removed when the second hijacked plane (United Airlines Flight 175) crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. At this point, everyone knew that America was under attack. The third hijacked plane (Flight 77) crashed into the Pentagon at Arlington, Virginia, killing everyone on board and 125 people on land. The last plane (United Flight 93) crashed into an empty field around 80 miles south-east of Pittsburg. Over 2,891 people were killed in total, and many more were injured. (Walsh)
The Patriot Act was signed into law as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The USA PATRIOT Act has helped America make progress toward becoming the most secure nation in the world. What is the Patriot Act? The USA PATRIOT Act was signed into law quickly without much debate back in 2001 right after the September 11th attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. The Patriot Act touches almost everything from more funding for businesses that are affected by terrorist attacks all the way to funding affected families of terrorist attacks.
To help insure that no other terrorist attack happens again, the government funded a new agency called the Department of Homeland Security. Under the Department of Homeland Security is a branch called the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA was established to make sure that no one carried weapons aboard an aircraft for terrorism related uses. When the TSA was established they realized that security was very weak, and could use new machines to help screen for weapons. The government funded the TSA to install new state of the art screeners, to help insure that nothing like 9/11 ever happens again. Thankfully, the TSA has prevented any further attacks, on American
Airport Security Before the dreaded day of September 11, 2001 , a person or persons flying could be escorted to their gate by family members and loved ones. The thought that a gun would or could be brought on board of an airplane and used as a means to hijack an airplane never crossed a passenger’s mind. Isaac Yeffet said, “After Lockerbie, everyone thought; now we’ve learned the lesson of how to be proactive instead of being reactive. Unfortunately, September 11 came and we know the result.
The evolution of airport security would evolve over time just as airline safety. There would be a series of unfortunate events that would affect the way all airports operated. Prior to these events passengers would simply show up with their luggage and ticket and get on the plane, no screening or baggage checks were conducted. The FAA and the Federal Government had taken many steps by passing numerous pieces of legislation to address aircraft safety to reduce the number of accidents; however aircraft security was never addressed in all previously passed legislation. As the number of air travelers increased year by year, so did the potential for crimes against the airlines. These crimes included aircraft bombing and hijackings.
Chuck Goodwin explains, “TSA, which stands for Transportation Security Administration, is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security and is responsible for screening all travelers and their luggage, as well as the screening of all air and rail transportation in the US.” Many travelers know of the them for their increased presence in all airports in the U.S and other major American airports worldwide. After the terrorist attack that took place in September 2001, President Bush and his advisors implemented The Patriot Act. Tracey DiLascio explains, “The Patriot Act is complex, but its major provisions act to improve coordination and communication between government intelligence agencies, removing unwieldy and unnecessary legal barriers between different federal offices and allowing vital investigations to proceed with greater ease and efficiency.” Their idea was to ensure that all intelligence agencies would communicate in a way that would keep America safe. “Steps to prevent events of the scale of those that took place at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, began to fall into place almost immediately...The first outline of a proposal for what would eventually become the USA Patriot Act was drafted just days after the attacks.” (DiLascio) Due to past terrorist attacks, the TSA has implemented security measures in the airports they occupy. “Following September 11, 2001, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created to strengthen the security of the nation’s transportation systems and ensure the freedom of movement for people and commerce.” (TSA website) These measures include full body scanners and pat downs.
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.
The United States spends billions on transportation safety to prevent terrorist or any type of attack on American citizens. Airport security are one of the major problems that the government faces, and the solution is the TSA, also known as the Transportation Security Administration. Passengers believe the TSA is effective in abolishing problems such as terrorism, however, this is not the case. Airport security is not effectively protecting the passengers which is shown through the negligence and violations of the TSA employees, ineffective profiling techniques used by the TSA, and unqualified workers that are placed to protect citizens.
Another advantage would be elevating the conflict of interest the FAA has with safety and operational regulations. Edwards (2016) explains that “a basic principle of good governance is that regulators should be independent of the entities they regulate” (p.
Airports can be considered as important national resources of most countries in the world. The main responsibility of an airport is in transportation of people and goods and in internal and global business. They are where the nation’s aviation system connects with other modes of transportation and where state responsibility for managing and regulating air traffic operations intersects with the role of governments that own and operate most airports. However, most major airports are owned and operated by the private sectors. This is due to several reasons such as to improve efficiency and economic performance, be more competitive as well as to maximize the community’s return from the airport assets in which public enterprise found out to be less efficient in term of its production and management.
“Airport Security.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 January. 2014.