Airport security measures and changes following September 11

Airport Security

Already affected by high oil prices, labor union problems and falling demand the airline industry is at the brink of a crisis and security concerns are adding to their woes. Increasingly passengers are beginning to feel the agony of having to wait in the long lines, being subjected to a pat down search, baggage bottlenecks and the continuously changing carry-on restrictions. It is a formidable task for airline industry to balance the stringent security requirements with consumer convenience.

The 9/11 attacks created such a drastic change in the security measures in our country. Both nationally and internationally airports have witnessed a dramatic scaling up of security measures. Elaborate screening measures including the installation of Explosion Detection Systems (EDS), Explosion Trace Detection systems (ETD), Sniffer dogs and manual searching are in place to prevent another disaster like 9/11. [Garrick et.al, 2005]. Other developments including passenger profiling and 'Group Listing' and the use of advanced computer systems such as the CAPPS (computer assisted passenger pre-screening systems) have drawn severe criticism including filing of lawsuits alleging discrimination. [EFF] Even behavioral observations are in place currently in our national airports where passengers are analyzed for their facial expressions and body language to discern for potentially dangerous people. While federalization of airport screening has consolidated our aviation security it has also added to privacy concerns and other discomforts of the passengers and affected the business for airliners. At 12.5 billion seat miles the total capacity of our carriers today stands almost the same as Sep 2001 when it was 12.1 billion miles clearly indicating the gloom in the industry. [the Associated Press, 2009] a brief discussion of the new measures that are in place post 9/11 and the repercussions both for the passengers as well as the airline industry would provide us a better insight into this topic.

Airport Security (a Sweeping Change)

The scare of in flight terror attacks have driven our aviation security to a high alert and several regulations and sweeping changes in screening methods have been witnessed since 9/11.

The U.S. department of homeland security reportedly spends more than $500 million each year for the research and development of security devices for screening and detecting explosive material at the airports. Statistics also indicate that the economic burden of implementing these security measures have increased manifolds and is roughly estimated to be $9 per passenger. [Eleni Linos, (2007)] Passenger inconvenience has resulted in a decreased demand for air travel with people preferring to drive than take a plane for travel to neighboring states. It is estimated that the airline industry incurs an annual loss of around $1.1 Billion due to the reduction in demand. [Garrick et.al, (2005)]

Passenger Screening

The TSA (Transport security administration) has dramatically improved the security operations in our airports. From 16,200 security screeners prior to Sep 11, the number of TSA screeners increased to 56,000 by the end of 2002 with almost 55% of them in charge of passenger screening. Several surveys have indicated passengers feel safer and more comfortable with the TSA federal security screeners than the private screeners who were in place prior to 9/11. [Garrick et.al, 2005] the recent introduction of 'Whole body scanning ' machines for instance, has increased popularity among the travelers who choose this option in lieu of the regular 'pat down' search. Also this technology works faster (15 and 30 seconds) helping to speed up the security clearance process and reduce the wait time for passengers. Kristin Lee the spokesperson of TSA says, "over 99% of passengers choose this technology over other screening options,." [Jessica Ravitz] However, privacy advocates such as EPIC and American Civil Liberties Union caution that the potential of misuse of such whole body imaging devices cannot be ignored. As Coney, an advocate with EPIC says, "What they're showing you now is a dumbed-down version of what this technology is capable of doing," she said. "Having blurry images shouldn't blur the issue.." The same issue was raised by Chris Calabrese, a lawyer with the ACLU who feels that "Screeners at LAX [Los Angeles International Airport] could make a fortune off naked virtual images of celebrities." [Jessica Ravitz]

Baggage Screening

Baggage screening has been significantly improved with more than 7200 ETD machines and 1100 EDS machines across the airports in the country. Any baggage that is positive under the electronic screening is subjected to manual checking for any explosive devices or other dangerous weapons. Studies indicate that these electronic security systems raise a number of false positives. Almost 30% of the screened baggage is falsely identified as positive for explosives that require manual screening wasting time for the passengers. Also Lollis et.al (2003) reported that passengers are increasingly complaining about the damage or theft to their personal belongings. A survey conducted by Woodyard and Lollis reported that 63% of passengers felt that airport security is " becoming more of a hassle." [Garrick et.al, 2005] Further, the delay in baggage clearing is more prominent in large airports leading to mishandling and delayed arrival of baggage. Airline industry experts feel that the inconvenience with baggage clearance is causing considerable negative impact on passengers and is already affecting the demand for air travel. [Garrick et.al, 2005]

SPOT

This is another novel method of screening used in the U.S. airports. Known as SPOT, (Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques) this technique involves observing the facial expression and body language of persons to identify criminal intent and was first use by the Israelis. The TSA reports the success of its SPOT program stating that more than 70,000 people have been stopped for enquiry and 700 arrests have been made in the year 2006 alone based on this behavioral screening method. But so far these arrests have been restricted to drugs, money laundering and other crimes not involving terrorism. This new system which uses "micro expressions" to detect criminal intent is regarded as a new arsenal with the TSA in its efforts against terrorism. [Ian Macleod, 2009]

Impact on Passengers

While new regulations, technologies and processes are being implemented to improve airline security it is also necessary to assess the impact on passenger convenience and comfort. While most passengers are comfortable with the security measures, typical problems involve the time spent in screening resulting in delayed flights, late arrival of baggage's, privacy concerns of whole body scanning, and potential for racial discrimination based on group listing and risk profiling etc. Also airport security officials add new regulations every now and then adding to the confusion among passengers. The recent screening for certain powders in the luggage for instance has added on to the woes of the confused passenger. As Giovanni Bisignani, the chief executive of the International Air Transport Association says, "I am not convinced that we are much wiser or any more efficient with many of our processes. As travelers, our shared experience is hassle, and as industry players, it is bureaucracy and cost. It is time for both to change." [Michelle Higgins, 2009]