Airport security
Does the thought of going through airport security make you want to jump off a bridge? Some people may think that security in airports is either too strict, or it is not enforced enough. Airport security has certainly developed over time, both in terms of more technology, and in terms of increased security. It has had a lot of reasons to step up, both with terrorist attacks, and with other incidents, such as the way that explosive technology has evolved. The topic of airport security is a big debate: is it too strict or not strict enough? It is important that people know and understand both sides of this important issue.
There are many reasons why people believe that airport security should be more enforced. One reason is because of historical events. There are attacks that date all the way back to the 1930s. For example, there was an attack over Chesterton, Indiana killing all seven people that were aboard the small airplane. In 1949, a man from Canada named Albert Guay set a dynamite bomb in his wife’s luggage before she boarded the DC- 3 aircraft. Everyone on the plane was killed in the explosion. Later, him and his two accomplices that were involved in the making and the transporting of the bomb were arrested, and then they were executed. In 1970, President Nixon passed a law that said every person that gets on a plane, and their luggage, have to be screened before they board. Additionally in 1972, the FAA or the Federal Aviation Administration, made it mandatory that the airliner companies scan every passenger with a metal detector to try to prevent hidden weapons. On Christmas day of 2009, a man named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23 year old from Nigeria, attempted to set off explosives aboard a Northwes...
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...nt that people know and understand both sides of this important issue. Now people may see the difference between more strict and not strict enough.
Works Cited
“Airport Security.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 January. 2014.
“Federal Aviation Administration.” Federal Profiles for Students. Ed. Keele S. Sisung. Detroit: Gale Group 1999. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 January. 2014.
“O’Hare Airport Debuts Full-Body Scanner in Chicago.” UPI Photo Collection. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17. January. 2014.
“Smuggling.” Gale Encyclopedia of American Law. Ed. Donna Batten. 3rd. vol. 9. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 January. 2014.
Thomas, Eric. Personal Interview. 23 Jan. 2014.
Wlaschin, Emily. Personal Interview. 23 Jan. 2014.
“In 2001, airline security was minimal and was the responsibility of the airline. Passengers were asked a few questions by ticket agents before they passed through checkpoints with metal detectors that were calibrated to sound an alarm for anything larger than a small caliber handgun. If an alarm did sound, security at the checkpoint would use a hand wand to scan the passenger again to determine what had set off the alarm. Bags were simply passed through an x-ray machine.... ...
This paper describes our nation and the worlds mindset about airline terrorism before 9/11 and airline terrorism today. This remains a very real and deadly subject even though we don’t have as many incidents occurring at this moment in time. Still the potential for countless lives being lost in an aircraft accident from the actions of a terrorist or terrorist organization is still very real and innocent families across this nation and abroad remain the targets. Additionally, it will show that the security measures in place at airports prior to 9/11 were far less adequate, than today, and personnel responsible for airport security at the gates and throughout were either poorly trained or not trained at all when it came to hijackers and terrorist. This paper will also identify the extensive security measures, rules and training that have been put into place, which helped to curtail acts of terrorism onboard airliners.
One of the first new pieces of technology the TSA introduced were better screeners. A new screener known as AIT or Advance imaging technology has been created to counteract items that may have been hidden from site or...
Seaney, Column By Rick, and Ceo Of Farecompare. "Post 9/11 Flight Security: When Increased Safety Isn't More Effective." ABC News. ABC News Network, 09 Sept. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Going through security, boarding an airplane and sitting next to someone without that person feeling worried or acting suspicious of them, is starting to become very uncommon. Rephrase...
Homeland security is an American measure to ensure the security of the country. It is the national effort to ensure safety, security, and strength against terrorism and other issues, The goals of homeland security is to which will minimise the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorism, and reduce the number of damages to the country.
This happens because the TSA focuses on preventing attacks and does not explicitly reveal how many attacks they have stopped, or if they have stopped any at all. Dylan Mathews, the author of “The TSA is a Waste of Money,” argues the TSA would explicitly reveal if they stopped any attacks, but they simply have not. He cites an instance where the TSA “caught” an Army veteran who attempted to “smuggle” unfinished bomb-making materials into his checked luggage. Mathews argues that if they publicized such a small victory, they would most certainly advertise stopping a real attack. He backs up his argument with convincing statistics: Only 14 percent of passenger flaggings led to a referral to law enforcement, and only 0.6 of those flaggings led to an arrest, none of which related to terrorism. These staggering statistics clearly show the TSA’s current flagging process does not efficiently and effectively capture criminals, and only creates aggravating travel
"Problems" in the airline industry have not risen due to too much competition within the industry. To the contrary, Washington regulators should turn the industry loose in any more ways that it can. Lowering restrictions to enter the market place, emphasizing private ownership of aviation matters, and encouraging open and free competition within the scope of anti-trust law should be the goals of the Clinton Administration. Instead of heading towards re-regulation, Washington should get out of the airline business for good.
After World War II there was an excess of aircraft and trained pilots in the United States, which significantly increase in private and commercial flights. An increase in the use of private aircraft and large passenger planes meant an increase in the possibly of aircraft safety incidents. Even though safety measures had been put in place to tend to large number of aircraft in the skies, in late 1950’s there were two unfortunate accidents that finally led to legislation that would be a major change to the world of aviation that affects us even today. The introduction of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 spurred several changes in aviation that eventually led to the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration.
... Using behavior profiling instead of racial profiling, we can eliminate unfair treatment of an entire group of people to improve airport experiences for everyone. Experts in behavioral sciences could be hired to monitor airports and determine when dangerous situations arise. This system of security could be an improvement over the current one, because homeland security can be improved without the discrimination of an entire race. Racial profiling in airports creates unnecessary frustration for innocent passengers simply hoping to travel across the globe. Some may argue that the precautions are necessary to keep America safe from terrorism, but passenger profiling is too ineffective and unfair to be accepted as a valuable process. Airport security is hard enough to get through as it is, but the prejudice of an entire race is not taking us in the right direction.
Goodwin, Chuck. "Airport Security & Body Scanners: An Overview." (n.d.): N. Pag. Rpt. In Points of View Reference Center. N.p.: N.p., 2013. Web.
The beginning of the FAM program can be attributed to one singular event. On May 1st 1961 an event would take place that would change the way the US would approach aviation security forever. “The flight for National Airlines was prepared for departure from Miami International Airport t...
The sectaries of America say scanners violate their freedom of rights. However, these scanners were prudently designed with the privacy of the customers in mind by not giving them a hard drive, or putting memory and data storage in them.
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 flight was the target of an attempted bomb plot. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab got past security screening and successfully boarded the plane with explosives packed in his underwear. He nearly succeeded in detonating the bomb, but the detonation didn't go as planned and passengers overpowered him before he could fix the detonation[0]. As a result, the TSA increased the use of full-body scanners to replace metal detectors. Before the 2009 attack, there were only 40 full-body scanners in use across 19 airports. After the attack, the government planned to have over 1000 machines in use by the end of 2011. However, the expensive machines are ineffective. In 2010, TV personality Adam Savage unintentionally managed to get two 12" long razor blades through security[1]. In 2011, an undercover TSA agent was able to successfully pass through the scanners with a handgun in her underwear, repeatedly[2]. The TSA is clearly incapable of creating a truly safe airport checkpoint, and is becoming less effective the longe...
It was the rash of airline hijackings in the 60s-70s that inspired the use of metal detectors at the airport to prevent passengers from bringing onboard any weapons they may use to hijack the plane. As airport security gets tighter terrorists are plotting to defeat those security measures. Airport metal detectors are just a speed bump and many other measures had to be put in place to ensure people are able to travel safely. Airport security continues to get more advanced.