Airlines Are Still Safe, Despite What We Hear

By Lawrence Lease on November 28, 2015

Americans are beginning to travel across the country and world for their Christmas vacation. Travelers are no doubt on edge, perhaps more nervous than they’ve ever been since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Arduous pre-flight security screening in U.S. airports is becoming a thing of the past. (Photo from YouTube)

Who wouldn’t be, after the deadly attacks in Paris, the downing of a Russian airliner in Egypt attributed to an Islamic State bomb, and a steady diet of reports about gaps in U.S. air security? Yet, airlines are becoming safer than they were 14 years ago.

Despite the holes uncovered, airports and airlines are not the same soft targets that they were in 2001. Yes, TSA has failed in a lot of ways but it is light-years ahead of what passed for security before 9/11 when private companies hired minimum-wage workers and gave them scant training.

Surprisingly, some lawmakers want to go back to the days of private contractors to increase profits. Fourteen years after 9/11, terrorists continue to target jetliners and there have been a few close calls, but the nation’s air travel system has not been victimized by another attack. Strong improvements have been made to better ensure our security in the air.

Secure cockpits. Reinforced doors, the first and fastest change carried out after 9/11, have proved to be one of the most effective measures. The very existence of the doors should discourage 9/11-type hijack plots, and if a terrorist did make it on board, he’d face an almost impregnable barrier.

Some of the pilots in the cockpit carry firearms under a law that allows the TSA to train and arm pilots as a fail-safe against terrorists who do make it on board.

Screening for terrorists. Today, travelers are screened by the government against terrorist watchlists, including a no-fly list. On Sept. 11, 2001, the 19 hijackers were screened by a computerized system for air travelers run by the airlines.

Although more than half of the hijackers were identified for further scrutiny, the vetting applied only to their checked baggage, which did nothing to prevent their boarding.

Explosives screening. Before 9/11, passengers were screened only for metal objects by metal detectors and hand wands. Today, advanced scanning techniques have been added to screen for non-metallic bombs, explosives residue and other potential concealed weapons. If the scanners pick up something, passengers are patted down. Checked luggage is screened by explosive detection scanners, too.

Passengers themselves. Air travelers are different since 9/11. Like the courageous Flight 93 passengers who fought back and prevented more tragedy, fliers have proved repeatedly that they will do what’s necessary to stop another attack.

On Christmas Day in 2009, for example, fliers on a Detroit-bound flight subdued a Nigerian man who attempted to ignite a bomb hidden in his underwear. Similarly, passengers on a flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001 subdued would-be “shoe bomber” Richard Reid. Passengers, in essence, have become the last line of defense.

During the holidays, an average of nearly 2.8 million people a day pass through America’s airports. Every day presents a new test, but a net that was tragically loose 14 years ago is considerably tighter today. Holes remain that need to be filled. TSA agents, for example, famously missed 95 percent of mock explosives and banned weapons carried through in undercover tests early this year.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format