AviationGentler, kinder security checks at U.S airports

Thirteen years after the 9/11 attacks, Americans are beginning to adjust to less oppressive security checks at airports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has moved from a “one-size-fits-all” to a more efficient risk-based approach when it comes to airport security. Within a year, the agency enrolled more than 740,000 travelers in its Precheck program, which, for an $85 fee, allows travelers who have passed a background check to use quicker screening lanes at more than 120 U.S airports. About 50 percent of more than 12.5 million passengers were screened at U.S. airports between 26 November and 2 December. Fifty percent of these passengers experienced expedited screening, according to the TSA. Nationwide, 99.6 percent of passengers waited in line for less than twenty minutes.

Government Executive notes that the shift in TSA screening guidelines coincides with Americans’ view on terrorism. Right after 9/11, 46 percent of Americans believed terrorism was the most important problem facing the country. The figure had been less than .5 percent pre-9/11, and today, only 4 percent, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Outgoing TSA administrator John S. Pistole, who is leaving his post with the TSA on 31 December, recently highlighted improvements made in 2014 and areas to focus on in the coming years. TSA agents are confiscating more guns year after year, yet it is uncertain whether more people are trying to sneak weapons through security checkpoints or if the TSA is becoming more aggressive and alert. Between January and May 2014, roughly 892 guns were found by TSA agents in passengers’ carry-on bags. That was a 19 percent increase from the comparable period of 2013, notes the New York Times. About 80 percent of all guns found were loaded. As of mid-November, more than 1,900 guns had been discovered at checkpoints. “We do not speculate on why travelers bring firearms, loaded or unloaded, to airport security checkpoints,” said David A. Castelveter, a TSA spokesman. He added, “The fact that more firearms are being detected at the security checkpoints affirms TSA’s continued vigilance in intercepting prohibited items.”

Regarding the ban on carrying liquids through airport security, Pistole said eventually the TSA will relax the rules as a more efficient technology is developed quickly to identify the chemical nature of substances in containers. In November 2013, London’s Heathrow Airport adopted the LS10, a screening device built by Ohio-based Battelle to test liquids carried by passengers. Since January 2014 the European Union has allowed some liquids, aerosols, and gels onto planes. The TSA is exploring similar technologies but the agency has yet to announce when the ban will be lifted.

Further to streamline airport screening operations, Congress has urged the TSA to develop more partnerships with private companies who can handle airport screenings. In addition to PreCheck, fast screening service is available for returning international travelers at U.S. airports and borders through Global Entry, Sentri, and Nexus. “I’m hopeful that we will have some more people being enrolled through the third-party private sector, which could expand perhaps next year significantly the numbers. Instead of hundreds of thousands it may literally be in the millions — which we would then need to accommodate by increasing even more the number of T.S.A. PreCheck lanes,” said Pistole.

Third-party partnerships may allow the TSA to expand its fast screening service to more airports while the agency deals with budget cuts, Pistole said. He added that increased efficiencies have allowed the agency to eliminate roughly 5,000 screeners from the TSA’s payroll and return $100 million to the Treasury.