TSA IMPLEMENTED CHANGES

TSA implemented changes to adhere to Homeland Security demands

TSA implemented changes to adhere to Homeland Security demands

Introduction

Aviation security is an almost forgotten topic, commonly confused with flight security because since 9/11 we did not encounter another such terror attack on American soil. This article is meant to remind us that the threat did not disappear as seen a several recent events. The author demands that Israeli aviation security philosophy be immediately adapted instead of reinventing the wheel. (Wilson,2008)

There is a no better compelling illustration of the current situation approaching the subject of aviation security than validating once again the saying “the chain is as strong as its weakest link”. This article was initially conceived in July 2003, when it was obvious to me that the chosen strategy and implementation by TSA to protect the commercial aviation and its facilities, was far from the best available methods and technologies. I am compelled to reiterate again the still existing aviation security wide flaws and gaps after reading Giving Human Intuition a Place in Airport Security, written by Joe Sharkey in The New York Times a few days ago. In that interview Kip Hawley, the head of TSA, proudly stated that now we put “new emphasis on a layer of screening called behavioral detection” and also “We started off thinking, (pay attention to started - SE), what is it we do better than anybody else? What's the advantage we have? And it's that we see two million people every day. We know what normal is”. Eureka, Mr. Hawley, the highly protected secret is finally revealed. My question is: Why did it take six years to reach this obvious conclusion?

Discussion

Terrorist attacks had a major impact on Upstate air travel and law enforcement services during the past decade.Local airports tightened security. Area law enforcement agencies pooled their resources with state and federal departments to thwart future attacks.(Miller,2005)

Abotched terror attack aboard a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit on Christmas Day further emphasized the continued challenges of protecting the U.S. population at large from threats while maintaining the free flow of commerce and normalcy in everyday life. "Everybody remembers where they were on 9/11," said Rosylin Weston, spokeswoman for Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. "Not only that day, but the days that followed, too. We were glued to TVs and other mediums as people who lived through the attacks emerged and started to talk to us and tell their stories. It consumed us for days."

The effects of 9/11 were immediately felt

Aircraft remained grounded for two days after the hijacking of four American airliners, the destruction of the World Trade Center towers and the attack on the Pentagon. When the Department of Transportation finally reopened national airspace, flyers were reluctant to board.

"It had a tremendous effect on the psyche of passengers,". (Miller,2005,22)

In the months that followed, the federal government implemented changes to create a one-size-fits-all security screening process at airports across the U.S.A major change was the passage of the Aviation and Transportation ...