English
There are so many airports globally, that handle a large number of people than any mode of transport. Air transport has enabled the economic growth to most of these countries. They also operate at all times of the day yearly. There are several security measures in airports which have been there since long time ago. With the current revolution in technology all over the world, I personally agree that airport security should be increased. Comparing the rate of people traveling nowadays and a long time ago, the number has greatly increased as well as the number of airlines ("Global Airline Industry Program"). Airports receive a lot of passengers. This, therefore, means that there is need to increase security at airports. Increasing security will reduce the waiting time in lines as ("Airport Security Wait Times: Passengers Facing 'insane' TSA Lines .com") well as increasing efficiency.
There have been cases of terrorist attacks in several airports in the world, like the one that took place in Paris, France. Terrorists are a big threat to airports (Charters 33). Most of them carry explosive to the airports. They take advantages of the fact that airports use the same methods and processes in screening. They normally dismantle the explosives or put the explosives in a state that cannot be detected easily by the current airport screening. One can argue that terrorists normally have information concerning the airport security which enables them to bypass easily by using human communities (St 93). This, therefore, shows the importance of having increased security at airports.
There should be an increase in airport security, considering that head of states, their deputies, and ambassadors use them when they are traveling. These leaders are more of icons in the countries. Furthermore, in most states, the president is considered to be the symbol of unity ("President A Symbol Of National Unity | REACH"). In an event, something happens to these leaders in airports of other countries, this may result in chaos and violence in their home country. Also, it may lead to enmity between these states. The airports act as a source of income for their states. The security in airports should there be increased so that airports are preserved and operations continue normally. This means with increased security, there will no chance for someone or an item to bypass the whole security system.
International airports provide immigration facilities to passengers (Senguttuvan 62). International airports, therefore, receive a different type of people from different nations. It is very dangerous for them to grant access to the wrong people. With increased security, a total scan of an individual may be done to avoid such incidents. The airport security should also be increased to accommodate for people who cannot be scanned some devices. For instance, most airports use the scanners in screening passengers as they enter. It is important to note that not everyone is comfortable with the process. There have been some cases where these scanners have caused death. A woman named Diana Tolstova, aged 30 collapsed and died in Baikal International airport in Russia, few moments after walking through the scanners in the airport ("Diana Tolstova Fitted with Pacemaker Dies After Walking Through Airport Scanner | Daily Mail Online"). Airports should increase their security providing alternative security measures to prevent such situations.
Sometimes, there are situations where security breach may lead to flight delays. For instance, according to an event in Germany, there was a misunderstanding that resulted in a security breach in Frankfurt airport, prompting the evacuation of passengers in terminal 1, leading to delays and cancellation of flights. With increased security at airports, such incidences are unlikely to occur. The propaganda that leads to confusions in airports may be due to malicious individuals who only want to create panic at airports. In other airports, only one type of dog is used by the Anti-narcotics unit. There is a limitation to this. At the time the dogs might signal a false alarm when they detect things like sausage or other hormones. This can be tricky if they are all of one type. Airports, therefore, need to increase their security in this area by increasing the dog breeds to increase efficiency rate ("Four-legged Detectives › Cuba › Granma - Official Voice of the PCC"). When there are more dog breeds, there is unlikeliness of al dogs signaling a false alarm. Each dog breed will be specialized in a unique way, thereby increasing the security level in the anti-narcotic unit.
With increased security at airports and more penetration testing, it will be impossible for hackers to hack airport systems, or make fake visas that bypass the airport system. There are many hackers out there who provide such services to people for money. Many of them even create such visa for immigrants who are not of good conduct. They are able to do this since they are aware of the way the airport systems work. Since technology is being embraced everywhere and everything is connected to the internet, hackers detect the vulnerable points and execute their hacking activities (Purnell 19). Increasing airport security means not only updating computers (Plunkett's Airline, Hotel & Travel Industry Almanac 2009: Airline, Hotel & Travel Industry Market Research, Statistics, Trends & Leading Companies 21), but adding more breeds of sniffer dogs, upgrading the airport security systems and enabling data to be accessed by authorized personnel’s. Also, developing upgraded scanners and screening devices. Increased airport security will help in time-saving and prevent security breaches, as being under consideration by Federal Aviation Administration. Increased airport will boost the economic growth of states as a goodwill will be developed in the airlines. This means also passengers are likely to select a specific airline due to the security measures on their airports. Everyone feels safe when security is tight. Therefore, I strongly agree that airport security should be increased.
Works Cited
"Airport Security Wait Times: Passengers Facing 'insane' TSA Lines .com." CNN, edition.cnn.com/2016/05/13/aviation/tsa-long-lines-us-airports/.
Charters, David A. The Deadly Sin of Terrorism: Its Effect on Democracy and Civil Liberty in Six Countries. Greenwood P, 1994.
"Diana Tolstova Fitted with Pacemaker Dies After Walking Through Airport Scanner | Daily Mail Online." Mail Online, www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2849916/Woman-30-fitted-pacemaker-collapses-dies-husband-s-arms-just-minutes-walking-airport-scanner.html.
"Four-legged Detectives › Cuba › Granma - Official Voice of the PCC." Granma - Official Voice of the PCC, en.granma.cu/cuba/2015-11-02/four-legged-detectives.
"Global Airline Industry Program." MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, web.mit.edu/airlines/analysis/analysis_airline_industry.html.
Plunkett's Airline, Hotel & Travel Industry Almanac 2009: Airline, Hotel & Travel Industry Market Research, Statistics, Trends & Leading Companies. Plunkett Research Ltd, 2008.
"President A Symbol Of National Unity | REACH." MCI REACH, www.reach.gov.sg/participate/discussion-forum/2016/11/08/president-a-symbol-of-national-unity.
Purnell, John. Information Technology Systems at Airports: A Primer. Transportation Research Board, 2012.
Senguttuvan, P S. Principles of Airport Economics. Excel Books, 2007.
St, John P. Air Piracy, Airport Security, and International Terrorism: Winning the War against Hijackers. Quorum Books, 1991.
