Airport Security

Of all the targets available to terrorists, airports have proven to be one of the most important. Although there have been comparatively few attacks on airports and aviation, such attacks have been among the deadliest in terms of human lives and economic impact.

Airports make attractive targets because a successful strike can inflict a large number of casualties and disrupt air travel. Terrorists seeking to attack planes must usually try to smuggle themselves or their explosives, or both, through airport checkpoints. Thus, airport security involves not only ensuring a secure environment at the airport itself, but also implementing effective procedures to prevent terrorists from attacking planes.

Safeguarding airports is extremely difficult because of the volume of flights involved. To handle the thousands of flights, millions of passengers, billions of pieces of baggage, and tons of freight that flow through American airports every year, aviation relies on an extensive infrastructure that is highly dependent on complex telecommunications technologies. The tragedy of the 9/11 attacks vividly demonstrated the inadequacy of the measures that [Page 20]had been in place at U.S. airports and brought about the implementation of numerous new measures designed to enhance security.

A man demonstrates a check by a full-body scanner at Hamburg Airport (Germany) on September 30, 2010. Two scanners were being tested at Hamburg's airport before being installed in other German airports. Full-body scanners are in use to varying degrees in airports across Europe. Following 2009's failed Christmas Day bomb attack on a Northwest Airlines plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit, U.S. Homeland Security officials put pressure on their counterparts around the world to implement security measures like full-body scans. Along with Amsterdam, the machines can be found at airports in cities such as London, Paris, and Moscow. (Photo by Joern Pollex/Getty Images)

Because aviation is a global activity, airport security also requires international cooperation. U.S. airlines fly to numerous foreign airports and are linked through code sharing and other arrangements with other airlines. At the same time, planes from any different countries bring millions of passengers to the United States. The interconnected nature of air travel raises complex security issues. For example, the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 was placed onboard a plane in Malta, transferred to a Pan Am flight in Frankfurt, and subsequently placed on board a B-747 (Flight 103) in London for the trip across the Atlantic. Foreign airports have also been attacked. In December 1985 terrorists struck the El Al and TWA ticket counters in Rome and the El Al counter in Vienna, killing 19 and wounding 140. The International Civil Aviation Organization has attempted to promote essential international cooperation and establish effective international standards, but not all nations are able or willing to comply, and these goals have only been partially achieved.

Images created by a “backscatter” scanner are displayed during a demonstration at the Transportation Security Administration's Systems Integration Facility at Ronald Reagan National Airport on December 30, 2009, in Arlington, Virginia. Backscatter technology uses low-level x-rays to create a two-sided image. The scan can detect hidden metallic and nonmetallic objects such as weapons and explosives without physical contact. The TSA rolled out approximately 150 backscatter scanners in 2010 and has budgeted for 300 additional imaging units. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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