airpport security
...ng further terrorism attacks. Why wasn’t anything else done? And more importantly, what is going to be done now? Instantly, it became evident to the United States government that an organization needed to be established in order to lead the way in reforming airline security. On November 19, 2001, President George W. Bush signed into effect the ATSA, or Aviation and Transportation Security Act. Among many things, the ATSA created a new Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which protects the Nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. The TSA now oversees aviation security, rather than have it run by the Federal Aviation Administration and the airline industry. The Transportation Security Administration has even been said to eventually grow up to be the largest federal agency created since the end of World War II. The ATSA has also imposed a $2.50 fee on each passenger’s airline ticket; to help pay for the Federal government’s costs of providing aviation securities. Cyclically offering travel tips to the American public, the TSA has hopes of educating them and increasing their awareness and involvement of protecting the skies. More importantly, what the Transportation Security Administration did was, as of February 17, 2002; provide the federal government with full control over all airports in the United States. This was deemed as the first step toward a system where better trained, higher-paid federal employees screen passengers and luggage. The federal government will now establish new standards for security operations and supervise the passenger and baggage security at the 420 commercial airports nationwide. Additionally, the federal government will maintain and purchase all equipment used in airports. Furthermore, in the aftermath of September 11th, President Bush has vowed to help create policies to increase airline security, and make skies safer. One such policy that was implemented was the use of armed, undercover air marshals on U.S. domestic flights. In fact, since September 11, the number of air marshals on domestic flights has increased significantly: from 50 then to about 1,000 now. The air marshals are situated on the plane in normal clothes, usually close to the cockpit, waiting to intervene in case of hijacking attempts. However, some people are criticizing the program because of its impracticality and tremendous cost. I had a chance to interview William Vincent when my mother was traveling to Pakistan for the holidays. Vincent, head of Airport Security at Los Angeles International Airport stated, "It’s unrealistic to put an air marshal team on every one of our 30,000 flights per day and excessively expensive in many respects, we here at LAX go to extreme measures to eliminate even the slightest threats, before each passenger can board a plane, thus eliminating a need for a marshal on each and every aircraft”. “I don’t think terrorism is as big of a threat to airlines anymore, especially after 9/11, each airport in the Unites States in going to extreme measures to eliminate all threats, giving all customers a safe airline experience.” While it may be naive to believe an air marshal will be available for every single flight in the United States someday, the FAA claims it has received approximately 150,000 applications for those interested in being an air marshal, and while an air marshal has not yet been tested, the purpose of these air marshals is to deter further hijackings or other criminal acts from happening. Shortly after September 11th, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all airlines to install new cockpit doors in every aircraft. These doors are supposed to be strong enough to stop gunshots, grenades, and uncontrollable passengers. These precautions are intended to stop hijackers, but also allow pilots to still evacuate in an emergency. To pay for the cost of the new doors, a Federal Grant Program has issued a fund of $500 million dollars, effective October 1, 2001, to finance aircraft modifications. For a period of over six months, from September 2001 to May 2002, National Guard personnel patrolled many of the nation’s airports. Dressed in camouflage fatigues and armed with handguns, those in the National Guard were intended to reassure travelers they were safe. At the request of many local and state officials, the soldiers were sent to the airports while federal plans were being finalized. Over the years, in most of the United States airports, the National Guard troops have been replaced by local police officers. Another area in which airline security has been reformed is that of baggage screening. The ATSA has stated, “all bags loaded onto planes on domestic flights must be checked for explosive devices". Currently, the bags are being checked manually at most airports by baggage screeners, bomb-sniffing dogs and federal employees. In addition to having the bags more carefully checked, new federal workers must be implemented, rather than have traditional private companies run baggage screening. The baggage screeners at the time of September 11th were said to have had little or no training and paid barely more than minimum wage. The approximate 30,000 people who were baggage screeners, and belong to a private company, were gradually replaced or retrained with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. Also, restrictions have been placed on many items that used to be allowed on planes. Knives, nail files, razors, golf clubs, box cutters, and scissors are no longer allowed on domestic flights. Syringes and needles are only permitted if the medication has an appropriate label signed by a medical professional. It may sound like common sense, but these items used to be permitted onto flights. As well as these new restrictions, air travelers are now limited to one carry-on bag and one personal item, such as a purse or a briefcase. Nearly three years after that tragic day in September, have these new security policies actually been working? In some ways yes, although in some ways, absolutely not. In November 2001, a man made it...