Abstract
This paper discusses Airport security throughout the world and in the U.S. The lack of security in the airports in the U.S. compared to other countries even after 9/11. The resources not being used for security and training; the different security sections that should be made developed for more thorough security checks before any passenger even steps foot onto the airplane. The airport should run their security like it was a military base where everything out of the ordinary is scrutinized with undercover security personnel asking suspicious passengers questions.
Airport Security How many times have you, your family member or friend gone through security in a U.S. Airport? Is a metal detector really going to stop a terrorist from hi-jacking a plane? I have been to different Airports in the U.S. and to Hartsfield International Airport too many times. I have noticed one thing in all of these airports in the U.S., lack of security and the business like approach to it. After we all pass through the metal detectors, what other security measures are there, from preventing a person to get on a plane with bad intentions either smuggling something or passing through the metal detectors which, they don’t catch a terrorist with bad intentions. After the initial security metal detector check point, we are all free and on are way to the airplane. If the security guards at the metal detector check point, don’t catch the person with bad intentions the first time, who will? The Air Marshall is the last defense. I have felt like the security at airports is really lacking after the initial check point. Anyone can smuggle anything after that point onto the airplane without being checked again. There needs to be another security checkpoint before passengers get onto the plane, not at the gates, cause it would be too many personnel involved. Another layer of security should be set at entrances at all the gates that interlock, for example; if the your gate is D-6 at any airport, before you enter the D section there should be another security check point right there. Another check at all interlocking gates would at least assure that anything that the first metal detector couldn’t find the second one would. With it being more involved, with better background checks, where the person is headed, what the passenger is wearing, how he/she is acting, how they bought the tickets, if it was in cash on a one way flight. The Israelis have the number one, safest and secure airport in the world, the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. They pride themselves on security; the airport has been the target of several terrorist attacks, but no attempt to hijack a plane departing from Ben Gurion International airport has ever succeeded. At Ben Gurion, security officials make a point of engaging in dialogue with almost everyone who's catching a plane. Israeli airport security, much of it invisible to the untrained eye, begins before passengers even enter the terminal. Officials constantly monitor behavior, alert to clues that may hint at danger: bulky clothing, or a nervous manner. Profilers, make a point of interviewing travelers, sometimes at length. They probe, for anything out of the ordinary, anything that does not fit. Their questions can seem odd or intrusive, especially if your only previous experience with an airport interrogation was being asked whether you packed your bags yourself. Unlike in U.S. airports, where passengers go through security after checking in for their flights and submitting their luggage, security at Ben Gurion comes first. Only when the profiler is satisfied that a passenger poses no risk is he or she allowed to proceed to the check-in counter. By that point, there is no need to make him remove his shoes, or to confiscate his bottle of water. (Jacoby, 2006). The U.S. should take a look at the Israeli standard for their airport, the Israeli’s were on constant alert of terrorism in the middle east. The U.S. is now the main target and we need to step up our security and put our resources and training into these security guards and methods. U.S. and other countries should screen people, rather than just their belongings. Security officers should be trained to notice facial expressions, body language, and speech patterns, which can hint at a traveler's hostile intent or fear of being caught. We should make the airport security like entering the White House, we cannot afford one person to slip into the cracks. Terrorists are watching, studying, examining, prodding and researching, trying to find the weak link in our lack of security. We need to match that intensity and find different ways, even if it is unethical like racial profiling, we can’t afford one slip up. There has not been that big of an improvement since 9/11, the airports are still not fully secure and do not feel that the security is where it should be. The U.S. needs better technology to beat the terrorists and example is again at the Ben Gurion International airport, they have the Magshoe. The MagShoe is the latest addition to Israel airport security. The portable devices are installed at security check points at the terminal. The system is designed to scan both shoes at the same time. All the passenger has to do is to step on to the MagShoe device which scans the shoes while still on the passenger. MagShoe will cut down on the time it takes to go through security, making travel a little more comfortable for travelers, while cutting down on the amount of security personnel needed. (News from Jerusalem ,2010). Researchers and security officials need to start going under cover and probe their own airports to see where the security is lacking and test the entrances of the security sights. They need to bring explosives or explosive material and see if they can pass through, to see how they can improve the security at these check points. Detecting weapons and materials is important, but also detecting passengers is very important. They need to train and use profilers at these security check points, to ask questions and see if anything is out of the ordinary. They need to probe, to make sure that there gut instincts tell them that the passenger is a safe for the flight. With the plan on safety and security, it is going to cost money, and time for the passengers to get to their gates. I for one hand, would rather go through the tough, scrutinized security, knowing that my flight will have no terrorists or weapons on board.
Airports need to go further than just inside of the airports, they need to secure the perimeter of the airports, so that people cannot take pictures or video’s of incoming and outgoing planes and to further stop people from observing how the airport is run from the outside and from getting onto the ramp or airfield. Here is one example of one person who thought that the airport had no perimeter security. “My son and I were spotting today at a top-10 airport this morning. We parked near an abandoned building and were able to take hundreds of pictures of airplanes. We enjoy that particular location due to its close proximity to arrival and departures, taxiways, and maintenance hangars and whenever we go spotting we can sit for an hour or two without being hassled by security. But as we were sitting there today watching arrivals and departures I noticed something that alarmed me. There is no security in this particular area of the airport; no roving patrols, no law enforcement, no airline security, nothing. And there is a single, solitary gate that blocks access from the parking lot we were parked in to the ramp area of this building. The gate is secured by a chain and a padlock. Out of curiosity I zoomed in with my camera and got a pretty good look at the lock. It is rusted and in poor condition. A simple strike with a 99 cent hammer would probably do the trick and allow anyone to have access to a secure area without being noticed. At this particular location on the airfield, there is a road that leads from the parking lot, through the gate, onto the ramp, and then onto the airport perimeter road. Over the course of two hours I counted 6 vehicles on the perimeter road. All were airline vehicles coming or going to the maintenance hangars nearby and all were occupied by the driver only. All the while TSA would be checking for 3 ounces of liquid in innocent passengers' carry-ons.” (Anonymous, 2008). I've come to the conclusion that airport security here in the U.S. is more show than effective. If the U.S. doesn’t want to be a target or get attacked in the near future they really need to ramp up and spend money and resources to find ways to protect the airport’s that carry millions of passengers a day. Think like a terrorist, keep probing their own security to see how people hide and smuggle things in through security.
References
Jacoby, J. (2006, 23 August). What israeli security could teach us. Boston.com/news. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion.
News from Jerusalem. (2010, 22 Friday). Security at israel’s ben gurion airport moves up a step with magshoe. News from jerusalem. Retrieved from http:// www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com.
Anonymous. (2008, 23 March). Observation: airport security (of lack thereof). Airliners.net. Retrieved from http://Airliners.net/aviation-forum.