...The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the security of the traveling public in the United States. The TSA was created as a response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. The organization was charged with developing policies to protect U.S. transportation, especially in airport security and the prevention of aircraft hijacking. With state, local, and regional partners, the TSA oversees security for highways, railroads, buses, mass transit systems, pipelines and ports. However, the bulk of the TSA's efforts are in aviation security. “Most of TSA’s workforce is Transportation Security Officers. About 50,000 TSOs screen 1.8 million passengers every day at airports all over the country. The TSA has taken several steps in recent years to promote continued education, foster a safe and productive work environment, and identify and reward outstanding performance.” (Transportation Security Administration, 2013) However, it seems the TSA is more interested in the appearance of security than actual security. The TSA has a huge task of ensuring security at different check points of the country. Over the last few years, they have maintained strict security measures because of the few incidents that took place at different intervals of the year. Their major task is to ensure security at the airports and they conduct security checks of the passengers with the help of various procedures. The security...
Words: 3117 - Pages: 13
...Airport Security Abstract Through the history of aviation the significance of airport security has progressively increased. Since the catastrophic terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, many changes have taken place at airports to prevent such an attack from occurring again. The purpose of this paper is to: outline airport security procedures, discuss the different technologies involved with airport security, as well as examine the components of airport security. In addition I will also discuss the Transportation Security Administration’s role in our nation’s airport security. Airport Security Airport Security is an essential of life both in America and throughout the world. Without airport security our airports would not be able to function and terrorist attacks like those of September 11th, 2001, would be more common. Passengers would be afraid to fly in fear of such a terrorist attack happening again. The airline industry would lose more revenue from lost ticket sales. Then the airports themselves would lose money from the lack of passengers boarding through their gates. Finally this lack of security would trickle down to the entire economy not only in the communities surrounding the airport and aviation industry, but to the nation’s economy as well. To keep this economic failure associated with another terrorist attack from happening, our nation must take the appropriate measures to prevent it. “Airport security procedures are designed to deter...
Words: 2747 - Pages: 11
...Problem with Airport Security: An Analysis of the Effectiveness and Cost of the Transportation Security Administration Since the beginning of air travel, airport security has been a problem because of matters such as terrorist attacks. Recently, the Transportation Security Administration has been in charge of security in American airports. Many problems plague the TSA though. Much research has been done on these issues. Although there are many threats of terrorist attacks since the 9/11 attacks, the TSA should be abolished because of its high cost and poor effectiveness. Before the attacks on the World Trade Center of September 11, 2001, airport security was not a large concern. The Transportation Security Administration was not established...
Words: 1087 - Pages: 5
...Airport Security Design Introduction The world and the United States stood still on 11 September 2001 as terrorist attacked the United States using four jetliners. Over the course of the next thirteen months, the President of the United States along with the U.S. Congress passed a series of bills that would change the structure of the U.S. government. On 20 September 2001, President George W. Bush announces to congress the formation of the Office Homeland Security. In a speech to congress, President Bush states, “Our nation has been put on notice: We are not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans. Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security, which includes airport security (Bush, 2001). Of these government agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) provides the federal guidelines, which all airports must adhere to for security. The FAA and TSA provide these guidelines through the Recommended Security Guidelines for Airport Planning, Design, and Construction, and TSA civil aviation rules, CFR 49-1542. It is up to airport operators to follow these guidelines to insure passenger and employee safety. Security Force Many airports across the United States use local law enforcement to aid in the security of their airports. However, several airports have...
Words: 3562 - Pages: 15
...Airport Security On September 11, 2001, a terrorist group by the name of the “Al-Qaeda” set a plan to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. There were nineteen people that were affiliated with this attack, fifteen of them were from Saudi Arabia, and the other four people were from United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon. There were four teams and each team had a highly trained pilot hijacker, all four of these hijackers were trained in South Florida before boarding the planes. United Airline Flight 11 from Boston hit the North Tower at 8:46am and United Airline Flight 175 from Los Angeles hit the South Tower at 9:03am. Both the North and the South Tower fell, many other buildings were burnt to the ground as well. On this horrific...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
...The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced the start of TSA Pre✓™ operations at LaGuardia Airport (LGA). TSA Pre✓™ is a passenger pre-screening initiative that allows qualified passengers to go through an expedited security process, which among other benefits, allows them to keep their shoes and light-weight jackets on while going through the checkpoint. At LGA, select Delta Air Lines frequent flyers are now eligible to participate and may receive expedited screening benefits when traveling domestically. TSA Pre✓™ is part of the agency’s larger effort to implement risk-based security concepts that enhance security by focusing efforts on travelers about whom the agency knows less. To date, more than 640,000 passengers have experienced TSA Pre✓™. TSA Pre✓™ is now available in 12 airports for both American Airlines’ and Delta Air Lines’ frequent flyers. “It is important to understand that TSA Pre✓™, and risk-based security in general, does not mean less security – it means more focused security,” said TSA Deputy Administrator Gale Rossides. “Every passenger will still be screened, and TSA officers will still be looking for prohibited items, including in the TSA Pre✓™ lane. With risk-based security initiatives, we’re adjusting the screening procedures for those passengers that we know more about so that we can focus on finding that small fraction who may pose a threat. By doing so, we hope that everyone will have a better security experience.” Eligible passengers...
Words: 1933 - Pages: 8
...Consequences & Prohibition of Certain Items to Board Planes April 14, 2014 Policy Analysis Two Abstract This paper explores the issue of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing marijuana on planes, medical or not. This paper also addresses the issue of what steps TSA aviation security would follow as a procedure of an individual attempting to or boarding an airplane with marijuana. TSA has a “Prohibited Items” policy that specifically lists items prohibited from airplanes (“Prohibited Items,” 2014). This particular procedure would call for an adjustment in the TSA’s budget plan for the fiscal year 2015. Keywords: TSA, airplanes, FAA, prohibited items, medical marijuana According to the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), have certain items that are prohibited from being brought onto airplanes in carry-on and checked bags (“Prohibited Items,” 2014). Although some items are generally permitted, they may be subject to additional screening or they will even be rejected if they trigger any alarms during the screening process, appear that someone has tampered with it, or pose other security problems (“Prohibited Items,” 2014). Some dangerous items are illegal in certain states and passengers will be subject to the state laws. Each passenger is responsible for obtaining the knowledge that origination and destination cities...
Words: 1759 - Pages: 8
...Aviation Security Since the September 11th 2001 attack, aviation security has become a main focal point of national security. Air travel is one of the most frequently used forms of transportation within the United States and is supported by over 400 airports across the country. During this attack, terrorists utilized the weakened state of security in airports to fulfill one of our nation’s most devastating events. Due to these events security measures have increased dramatically over the last ten years to include new technology and security programs to reduce possible terrorist threats from boarding plans. I would like to understand if the correlation between the increased aviation security measures and the deterrence of terrorist utilizing this form of transportation in a terrorist plot. Understanding whether or not aviation security measures are effectively deterring terrorist threats could help shape the future of transportation security within the United States. If effective then some form of these security programs can then be applied to other forms of transportation such as railways or buses. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) states We use layers of security to ensure the security of the traveling public and the Nation's transportation system that include intelligence gathering and analysis, checking passenger manifests against watch lists, random canine team searches at airports, federal air marshals, federal flight deck officers and more security measures...
Words: 1350 - Pages: 6
...7.25.11 TSA Implementation of Surface Transport Security The Transportation Security Administration or TSA, is an agency within Department of Homeland Security, which developed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. The DHS was created by the Bush Administration as a way to consolidate security information and intelligence to help defend the the United States from foreign and homegrown aggression. The TSA itself was established under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act in November 2001. (http://www.tsa.gov/research/tribute/history.shtm) Since then, the TSA has become household term for air travelers in the United States, even abroad. The familiar annoyance of long lines and uniformed officers disassembling everything you packed. However, air travel in the United States is hardly the only method of transit utilized by the everyday citizen, or terrorist in sheep's clothing for that matter. Ten years later, one may ask, what is the TSA doing to protect other modes of transport? More specifically, what are they doing to help implement security for travelvia surface modes, such as trucks, rail, and ocean vessels? The mere mention of the the Transportation Security Administration conjures up the image of an airport and “prohibited items” lists. However, being the Transportation Security Administration, additional application is needed. Now, let's move forward, to 2011. TSA involvement in Security Of Surface Transport ...
Words: 517 - Pages: 3
...TSA: How Far is too Far? ENG 122 English Composition II Dr. Rigney January 2, 2013 TSA: How Far is too Far? September 11, 2001(9/11) was the day the country was reminded that terrorists attacks on the United States is real and is a serious threat. On that fateful day in 2001, we lost thousands (to date there is still no official number) of our fellow Americans because nineteen terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The members of this group were able to pass through airport security with box cutters and “explosives” (this has never been proven to date), to board the passenger jets that would be used in the attack that day. Once the terrorists had taken over the jets in mid-flight, they re-routed the jets to their intended targets. Two of the jets crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. One of the jets was able to hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the last jet never made it to its intended target because of the brave passengers on board that day. The passengers were able to take back control of the jet from the hi-jackers and the jet was crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania (9/11: timeline of events, 2013). Immediately following these attacks, a nationwide shut down of all aircraft was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (Hoffman, 2011, Roberts, 2011, and Hoyer, 2011). This nationwide shut down began to slowly lift on September 12, 2001; this was when the planes...
Words: 2010 - Pages: 9
... Page INTRODUCTION 4 BODY 4 History 5 Who We Are and What We Do 5 Screenings 6 Body Scanners 7 How the TSA Circumvents The Fourth Amendment 8 U.S. vs Marquez 8 CONCLUSION 9 REFERENCES 10 INTRODUCTION In the busy world there are many things to consider when it comes to people's rights and legal issues. The focus of this paper will be that of air travel, more specifically the new requirements set forth by the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA (transportation security agency). Since that horrible day on September 11, 2001 many new regulations have been have been set in motion in order to secure the travelers. The legal issues in which I will discuss will be that of the Fourth Amendment, which guards us against unreasonable searches and seizures. Many people felt that the new rules and regulations behind TSA violated our Fourth Amendment by the pat downs and new security scanners. TRANSITION PARAGRAPH According to the TSA website the mission of the TSA is “the transportation security administration protects the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.” TSA employees nearly, 50,000 officers, screen more than 1.7 million passengers each day at more than 450 airports. Another component since the TSA's inception was utilizing and deploying federal air marshals every day on domestic...
Words: 2005 - Pages: 9
...Everyone loves going on vacation, but not everyone loves going to the airport. This is mainly because of the long, winding security lines, the trouble of taking off your shoes and belt and taking out all liquids, and the fear of being questioned or detained by the TSA. The TSA stands for the Transportation Security Administration, and they’re the ones who make airport life less than pleasant. According to their website, the “TSA was created to strengthen the security of the nation’s transportation systems and ensure the freedom of movement for people and commerce” (tsa.gov). The TSA was founded on November 19th, 2001 in response to the tragedy of September 11th. They were created to make sure nothing as severe as the Twin Towers ever happened...
Words: 1143 - Pages: 5
...2001 the nations’ security has been a hot topic, not only in politics but in the everyday life of Americans. Airports are an obvious location for the substantial discussion over the effectiveness of security measures in the nation. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created to address the concerns created by the terrorist’s attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Congress passed and signed into law the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19, 2001 which is the legislation creating the TSA. The stated mission of the TSA is “protect the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce”. However, with any focus on the news or current events would be able to identify that the TSA has failed to fulfill their objectives....
Words: 647 - Pages: 3
...Aviation Aviation and Transportation Security Act Abstract The passage of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) in 2001 changed the way the aviation industry operated and how passengers travel. The ATSA forced the US Government and aviation to change its security culture to ensure protection of passengers and employees from future attacks like those that occurred on September 11, 2001. The ATSA was passed and signed into law in direct response to the security vulnerabilities that surfaced during the 9/11 attacks. This paper will demonstrate how the ATSA affected how US Government agencies and aviation industry upgraded security processes in an effort to prevent terrorists from attacking the US in the future. Aviation and Transportation Security Act After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States Congress turned its focus towards tightening airport security by voting to standardize airport security nationwide. Before 9/11, airport security was the responsibility of airports and contracted security services utilizing unskilled passenger and baggage screener personnel. Screeners where overworked and received a minimum wage average salary. Many mistakes caused by inadequate employee security training created numerous security vulnerabilities throughout the aviation industry. After the 9/11 attack, a federal government controlled, stricter, and more sweeping passenger and baggage screening replaced this flawed system. With the aid...
Words: 2440 - Pages: 10
...Government-Operated System on Aviation Security Travis Park Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University ASCI 202: Intro to Aeronautical science I. Summary: Throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the government developed its security system by introducing inspection devices, canine teams, and etc. However, on September 11, 2001, the most terrible tragedy has changed the United States. It was the most shocking moment in the history, and it changed the whole security system in aviation industry. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2011 (ATSA) was passed, and the federal government created Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and gave direct responsibility of aviation and airport security to TSA. Although the government has done its best for aviation security, the government-owned system has its pros and cons. This research paper would discuss the pros and cons of security system between private contractor and government-owned system. II. Problem: The United States called for more effective security system on the aviation industry, which ensures the safety and protect the country. However, the government agencies do not always succeed its efficiency and created many loss compare to private sector. The ATSA required TSA to run a two-year long pilot program, culminating the Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which allowed airports have private contractors for its security personnel and maintain issue that operate under the TSA requirements. However, there has been...
Words: 651 - Pages: 3