Introduction
Air travel is one of the most convenient methods of transport. It is fast, and timely. However, it is expensive, and only a selected a few people can manage to pay for it. Considerably, it is one of the most delicate means of transport. The government, among other agencies, is considered a major shareholder in the management of the international air travel outlets. Airports handle international and domestic flights. Most people utilize air travel by moving out of the country during vacations. Most of them move as international tourists. Ideally, most of the fascinating terrorists aim at airports in their terror activities. Most of the terrorists prefer the airport check-in points (Rhoades & Waguespack, 2004). This is because they consider them to be the hubs of rich men. Any striking that is performed by terrorists at expensive assets instituted in the airports is usually a critical national disaster. Ideally, they use these venues in the case they need to send a message to the government concerning certain demands.
There are security measures that most of the international and domestic airports have put into practice globally. These security measures are intensive in the airport terminals than they are in the vessels. It is possible to say that air travel is quite a privilege as considered by many. Therefore, people insist that it is supposed to be enjoyable. However, some inevitable threats have overcome the security that is supposed to be instituted. In the United States of America, a body named the Transportation security Administration has been installed in airports. Their objective is to prioritize the security in the airports among other centers of transports (Rhoades & Waguespack, 2004). Ideally, it is one of the advancements in the department of Homeland security. In the recent years, the Transportation Security Administration has been effective in ensuring the security of the Airports. The department was transited from the Department of Transportation to the department of Homeland security. The association deployed a large number of employees in the trail of screening events and passengers in the check-ins and check-outs situated in the airports. Luggage and passengers have continually been screened on the airports.
Particularly, the TSA has an approximate 50, 000 security officers. These officers are deployed in 450 airports within the United States of America. The officers are responsible for screening an approximate 1.8 million people who travel by air annually. They have a history of making numerous arrests of the defaulters found within the airline terminals. The officers are specially trained to use over 800 explosive detectors in the airports and transit systems. The passengers are expected to feel secure with the system of travel. Psychological impact is implanted in the minds of the travelers.
First, the TSA officers screen the passengers and their luggage. They prevent thousands of guns and explosives from finding their way to the airplanes. One of the strategies that the department has deployed is installation of technology intensive machines. The machines are effective in the process of imaging the passengers as they pass. In other terms, they are referred to as the body scanners. Most of the people are daring such that they can transit illicit goods via their bodies. The technological advancement has had an affirmative result in the national statistics concerning detecting of drugs and illegal goods. Some of the gadgets are used to screen the eyelid, as well as fingerprints. The method has been effective in identifying the error prone individuals and luggage. Ideally, according to the statistics, the possibilities of having a terror attack is very high if the measure are not put into place.
However, some of the human rights activists have gone against the screening of human bodies. So many human beings are screened. However, some organizations have argued that the no one is allowed to access the private parts of the bodies belonging to other people. An online group called National 'Opt-out' argues that seeking to use body image scanners goes against the human rights. Particularly, the representatives of the organization stated that it was time for the ordinary man to stand-up for his or her rights. They have made it a law case. They stated that buying a plane ticket has become passing to guarantee one guilty until proven innocent.
In the recent past, there have been some terror threats. Some of the cases that have arisen include the infamous shoe bomber in the year 2001. Additionally, other cases include the underwear bomber of 2009. In the times, these terror attacks happened; the methods of screening the human beings, as well as, luggage were developing. For instance, the shoe bomber used his shoe as a carrier of the explosive. Religiously convicted jihadists attempted bombing an airplane. It is said that a successful screening of the body was done. However, the sneakers belonged to Reid (Bauman, 2009). Reid claimed to have been a Muslim. He had attempted to detonate an explosive that was fixed in his shoes. The plane had departed from Paris, France and was destined to settle in Florida. Richard Reid confessed to having tried to have successfully passed through the check-outs at the terminal. When he tried to detonate an explosive, the passengers and FBI Special Forces tried to halt the act. The plane successfully landed in Boston Massachusetts. Ideally, the life of 197 passengers was threatened. However, more measures of ensuring a successful screening process have to be initiated.
Another example is that of the underwear bomber. Most of the explosives are not checked in the private parts. A Nigerian Student in the United States was carrying out his Jihad responsibility by planning bombing of airplanes. His attempt to have the explosive in his pants was unidentifiable. The human screening technology was not up to date (Olsson, 2013). Therefore, this was a loophole for the young Farouk to bomb a plane. Failure of the bomb to detonate was not attributed to the security measures but the smoking that happened on the plane. Ideally, this gives the government a challenge of ensuring that the measures of security as well enhanced. Failure to do this may lead to fear of air travel. The Transportation security Administration has been delegated this responsibility. The TSA has actualized the personal and collective security system to any level possible.
A lesson was learned from the various succeeded entries of terrorists to the airplanes. The government realized that any incidence that would face the air travel industry would eventually cause a negative impact on the economy. In the secure flights and insecure travel rights position of consultation, the government was forced to come up with some new rules and requirements before successfully having a flight. The incidence occurred in the year 2009. Those who intend to use air travel have to be granted a passing by the government of the United States. The government delegated its role of authentication of flights to the Transportation Security Administration (Wensveen, 2012). That is; the for any passage to have a legitimate reservation and check-in rights for air travel, one is required to have an authentication from the TSA. Particularly, some of the people are found in the lists provided by the government as selectee and no-fly persons are denied the right to use an airplane.
The effort to establish air travel safety is one of the professional measures that have been carried out in the United States. Ideally, the screening of human bodies is essentially enough for one to be considered guaranteed to take a flight. The gadgets used are already capital intensive. Particularly, the instruments that are used to screen human beings and luggage are expensive to acquire. The government procures them at an expensive rate. In addition, they are bought in large volumes. A significant section of the economy is affected negatively by the investment made in the security measures. Accordingly, the government is deemed to have overstepped its mandate (Bauman, 2009). The security of the air travel cannot be made any better. The newly initiated statuses of the flight security where some people are barred from making transit are imbalanced. That is; it is very unfriendly since one's appearance, coincidental or mistaken identity, means that one cannot make any travel arrangement with the air travel.
More expensive methods of carrying out background checks for the people who wish to make trips by air were established. First, the TSA screens people via their national identity cards. After the bombing attempt at the Christmas situation by the infamous shoe bomber, the government of the United States initiated a fly or do not fly list. Timely intelligence strategies were implemented to withdraw the intensity of the potential terrorists (Olsson, 2013). The Transportation Security Administration learned that there were fake identity cards which terrorists used to enter the airplanes without objection. Therefore, the plan incorporates the secondary screening procedure. This was the final stage where successful passengers were given the chance to fly while others were turned away.
South West Airlines is an example of airlines that have experienced the outstanding service of the Transportation Security Administration in the pre-checking procedures. The Customs and Border Protection is part of the participating majors in the pre-check system. The strategy that is used to make this activity easy is that some of the people are engaged in a prior screening process. This process may allow the people to navigate checkpoints with ease (Farrow & Shapiro, 2009). Ideally, the participants of this program are permitted to use specialized systems that do not require mandatory of screening their shoes or luggage in an intensive manner. Ideally, the people who undergo normal screening processes have to get screening of their shoes, bags and the light outwear.
However, the special people who are guaranteed the pre-check privileged are from a limited scope. Particularly, these people include the United States Citizens who are also members of the special department of the Homeland security. Others include the Canadian citizens, who are international NEXUS members. However, the prescreening strategy is also used for other passengers with an objective of expanding the list of potential pre-clearing passengers. The passengers can always make use of the Pre-check lanes. Accordingly, unlike the situation where one counterchecked from the ‘do not fly’ list, the system is allowed to evade the opt-in search. In addition, the passengers do not have to provide their national identification cards, additional information or pay supplementary fees. It is important to note that the risk culprits are not granted this advantage.
According to the Transportation Security Administration, administers judgment of the pre-checked passengers. That is; the pre-approved travellers are deemed to be low risk. Therefore, their Global entry within the United States borders is guaranteed. Expedited entry within the United States is facilitated. Some of the special offers that are accrued to a pre-checked traveller are well elaborate. First, the travel does not have to undergo the tedious paper work that some of the travellers are engaged. The waiting time at the check-ins is reduced. There is a link between the pre-check system and the global Entry programs in the United States. The global entry system is categorized as a Customs and Border protection programs (Wensveen, 2012). It aims at accelerating the rate at which travellers are cleared. Particularly, it expedites the clearance of the pre-approved and less-risky travellers immediately after they check in the terminal. Ideally, the program gives the travellers whose trust is higher the advantage of passing the check-quest at a fast pace. Therefore, if a traveller had undergone a pre-checking process, then he or she is given the chance to have global acceptability within most of the airports in the United States. Some of the airports are situated in Airports such as Chicago O’Hare, New York Kennedy and Miami among others.
However, the American government, with a delegation of Transportation Security Administration has some measures used to govern the privileged pre-approved travelers. The officers who are deployed in him airport terminals may decide to carry out random checkups among the pre-approved travelers. The pre-approved travellers can enjoy the system of Global Entry for a maximum of five years. However, the status is renewable.it is essential to identify with the fact that the travellers are issued with cognitive documents which can signify that the person is pre-approved (Wensveen, 2012). They are some of the documents that the traveller is relevantly part of the program. The travel number that is issued to each of the pre-approved traveller is unique. That is; a different person cannot use it. The traveller is logged on to an account that is termed as the flyers account. The pre-check system can easily access the traveler's status.
The Global Entry program has some restrictions that rhyme with those of the pre-approved travelers. First, the people who can access the status are from selected groups. Some of the feasible categories are U. S citizens, Dutch Citizens, Mexican Nationals, and the Canadian residents. In addition, the age limit is given to be 18 years (Farrow & Shapiro, 2009). The adults and children have differentiated categories of acquire global entry. Very few restrictions are instituted in the measure. First, one cannot acquire the status if there are criminal records about him. In addition, if the traveller provides false information or information that cannot show the capacity of being a low risk traveler. In such a situation, the traveller is denied global entry.
Exponentially, the new programs reflect calculated moves to indicate some sense or excellence. That is; some of the travellers are given a chance to move faster during clearance. They are granted trust beyond the normal and acceptable level. To some extent, the passengers may feel quite safe. However, this does not explain any step to curb the rising level of insecurity. The most vibrant and significant objective of the programs is to give some of the passages a benefit of the trust. However, the trust is expensive. The accelerated rate of screening people may be the fatal point of an accident occurring. That is; the some of the clients who access the pre-approval and Global entry positions may be the major causes of the terror attacks that occur in the air travel terminals. For instance, the historically recorded instance of the Infamous Shoe Bomber is one of the unfortunate incidences that could ever face travelers. The bomber did not manage to cause damage in the air vessel. However, if one tries to imagine the resultant impact that would have arisen, precaution is called.
Accordingly, the programs initiated in the current time of pre-approval and global entry have fatal privileges. First, once a traveller becomes pre-approved traveler, he is granted immunity over being screened from the shoes, bags or the pants. The historical concepts imply that the terror bombings have unsuccessfully been attempted on airplanes. It means that the traveller-terrorists had managed to go past the screening site successfully. The programs initiated give the travellers a chance not to be screened on their shoes and pants (Farrow & Shapiro, 2009). These are potential carriers of explosives. The expedition of screening should not be done at a fast rate. Travelers are likely to feel insecure using airplanes in presence of such travelers. The trauma felt by one of the attendants in the airplane when the infamous Shoe bomber and the underwear bomber indicates the same kind of fear that the passengers may feel .it feels unsafe to fly.
Conclusively, major advancements have been made in the air travel industry. More gadgets that are used to screen human bodies as well as luggage have been improvised. Improved technology has been used to detect the presence of explosives amongst passengers. However, these gadgets are capital intensive and pull the economy to the deficit dimension. However, passengers continually feel unsecure. The deployment of TSA officers has been effective during screening. However, the weakness came up when they decided to use a fly list without making consultations. Most of the clients are not allowed to fly. Supposedly, if keen screening is done, explosives can be detected and stopped from accessing the vessels. It has become quite hard for the passengers to have explicit comfort in travelling by air. Ideally, people are not yet ready to feel secure while flying.
References
Rhoades, D. L., & Waguespack Jr, B. P. (2004). Service and safety quality in US airlines: pre-and post-September 11th. Managing Service Quality, 14(4), 307-316.
Frederickson, H. G., & LaPorte, T. R. (2002). Airport security, high reliability, and the problem of rationality. Public Administration Review, 62(s1), 33-43.
Bauman, Z., & Adey, P. (2009). Facing airport security: affect, biopolitics, and the preemptive securitisation of the mobile body. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 27, 274-295.
Wensveen, J. G. (2012). Air transportation: A management perspective. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd..
Farrow, S., & Shapiro, S. (2009). The benefit-cost analysis of security focused regulations. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 6(1).
Olsson, P. A. (2013). Homegrown Terrorists, Rebels in Search of a Cause.Middle East Quarterly.
