The events of September 11, 2001 in the United States became the impetus for a large-scale restructuring of the entire aviation security system, a professor at the University of Denver and owner of Leading Edge Strategies told RTVI Jeffrey Price. According to him, before the terrorist attacks, the level of safety during air travel in the United States was about three points out of ten, while after the reforms it rose to eight, and taking into account the additional levels of protection that appeared, perhaps even higher.
As the expert noted, before the attacks, the aviation security system as a whole remained quite weak, especially in terms of screening passengers, as well as requirements for baggage and hand luggage. According to him, the permit in effect at the time of the attacks to carry knives with a blade up to 4 inches (10 cm) on planes directly helped the hijackers, who were aimed at the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon building in Virginia.
One of the direct consequences of 9/11 was the creation of the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which dramatically changed the security clearance process. If previously the inspection took only a few minutes even on busy days, after the terrorist attacks passengers were advised to arrive at the airport two to three hours before departure in order to have time to go through all the procedures.
“In fact, the entire aviation security system was completely rebuilt. The principle itself, of course, remained the same: passengers still had to undergo inspection. But the way it was done changed significantly over time and ultimately shaped the system we have today,” Price said.
In particular, the equipment at control points was modernized and a new staff was formed. Airlines are no longer responsible for screening passengers; that function has shifted to the federal government and, in some cases, to authorized contractors.
If previously it was enough for a passenger to go through a metal detector, later scanners appeared to search the body. However, not all new requirements were a direct consequence of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Over the years, passengers began to be required to take off their shoes, restrictions were introduced on the transportation of liquids and requirements to remove laptops from hand luggage, the expert recalled.
The procedure for checking checked baggage has also changed significantly. According to Price, before September 11, he was practically not inspected, while subsequently such control became a mandatory part of the system. Checks of airport employees and their background data have also become more thorough.
Separately, Price highlighted the air marshal program, which involves armed security officers escorting flights to prevent terrorist attacks and hijackings. At the time of the attacks there were only about 30 of them, but today there are several thousand, although the TSA does not disclose exact numbers, the expert noted.
“The very existence of such a program already serves as a deterrent. If there are no air marshals, a person intending to commit a crime on board an aircraft knows that he will not have to face an armed security officer,” Price said.
According to the expert, today it is necessary to strengthen the security of the perimeter of airports and public areas. Particular attention must be paid to insider threats – risks posed by people who already work at airports or have access to service areas.
“This is one of the most difficult threats from both a prevention and detection perspective. Such people already have the “keys to the house”: they are inside the system, understand how it works, and have access to it,” the expert added.
Among the new challenges, Price also named drones, which can be used as carriers of improvised explosive devices, as well as cyber attacks.
“It is enough, for example, for someone to send a small drone with an improvised explosive device onto the airport grounds. This could completely stop operations for many hours and affect the entire national air traffic system. If several such incidents occur, society will inevitably begin to ask, “What are you going to do to protect us from this threat?” Price said.
The commemorative ceremony at the Ground Zero memorial in New York will be monitored by the RTVI team. We will show live archive footage from 2001 from the scene of the tragedy. Watch the special broadcast on September 11 at 8:15 New York time on the YouTube channel Duty for America / RTVI using this link.
