Abstract
The essay involves a study of the threats against Aviation Security and the issues and solutions proposed for the current trends in airport development and security measures followed in civil aviation.
Introduction
Aviation security is a crucial issue and refers to the protection of passengers, cargo, staff and aircraft from crime, malicious harm, accidental incidents and other threats. There are more than 50, 000 airports in the world and the number is anticipated to grow. Aviation plays a key role in the national economy and is an essential part of the global lives. Why would one say that? Well, large numbers of traffic, comprising of passengers and cargo pass through airports every day. About 9 million of commercial flights transport more than 600 million passengers domestically in US in one year on average.
The event of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 disaster shows that still a lot needs to be done to address civil aviation and national security issues. The tragic shooting-down of MH17 is looked upon as an attack on the air transport industry all across the world. Could there be a problem in the aviation industry? The above incidents do point to some key issues and problems concerning the Aviation security.
The Key Problems
Airport security is well in place to keep away any of those potentially dangerous situations arising. A failure in the security system means the dangerous threats entering into both aircraft and the country. The purpose of airport security is to not only to protect the airport and country, but also keep the traveling public safe. In recent years, there have been various attacks and attempts around the globe on airports and aircraft. After the disastrous incidents of September 11, when the terrorists hijacked civilian aircraft from US airports ( Airport and aviation security), the airports all across the world have been anxious about their aviation security screener functions.
Security systems in the aviation industry can be categorized broadly as perimeter security and access control. In order to secure the sincerity of the Perimeter security system, it is essential to locate the threatening events and responded instantly. Access control systems focus more on gatekeeping and screen the luggage and passengers a specific checkpoint. Have these areas been inspected? Well, of course, and different audits and inspections have described the Transportation Security at airports to be unresponsive and failing to present the adequate level of security.
Slow and Incomplete Intelligence Another important subject of debate has been the role of intelligence in an airport environment. It is essential to evaluate the intelligence is out there, the immediate and accurate information available relative to airport security (Kirschenbaum, et.al. 2012), and how it can be used properly by the airport security officials. It is the fast collection and the right analysis of information that will prove to be useful to airport security.
The Back Ends of Airports One of the major concerns according to the security experts is the back ends of airports that remain the most vulnerable. There is inadequate lighting in these areas and thousands of transient employees work in these areas, and can have unlimited access to airport facilities and aircraft. The airport authorities must watch over these workers responsible for fueling, catering, cleaning and loading commercial airplanes, and keep a close watch over them.
The Screening of Baggage, Cargo and Mail
Screening is an awfully big and responsible job. It has been found that very few inspectors comply with air cargo security regulations. This is because the amount of material that needs inspection is simply staggering. Billions worth of cargo are transported just within a country, and it is a colossal task to check every piece of baggage. There are lingering questions about the security measures provided at these outsourced facilities, both here and abroad, particularly in developing nations. Additionally, airport screening is not glamorous work at all, as those officers are required to work long shifts and keep on conducting monotonous checks.
The Service personnel
Service personnel are engaged in refueling, housekeeping, baggage handling, delivery of on-board food and beverages, were subjected to little security clearance. Many a times, rules are forgotten or overlooked regarding the security of these personnel.
The Inefficient Security Measures
The issue of the security provided for commercial airplanes remains. The domestic airline industry is seen to outsource most of its major maintenance. However, there are nagging questions that remain about the outsourced facilities, especially in the developing nations. There is a need to put a flexible and customized model in place to analytically facilitate the system evaluation and measure its effectiveness in counter a threat under intruder and defender scenarios. If one is able to reach to the major problems, it is time to look into the suggested solutions that can enhance the aviation security. What could be these solutions?
Solutions Proposed
The prime issue of safety at airport are of course the passengers, the aircraft and the cargo and keep them safe from the skillful and adaptive enemy. One of the solution lies in privatization of the security screener functions at all airports. What would be an alternative? There is a need to improve passenger screening technologies. Only an enhanced imaging technology along with rigorous oversight can ensure that the privacy protections are in place. Clear standards, specifications and testing procedures (Nikolaev, Jacobson, McLay) should be developed to scan airline passengers, carry-on luggage, and checked baggage and airline passengers. There are already rapidly changing rules and regulations regarding liquids, gels, electronic scanning, shoe removal, etc.
Accurate information and intelligence prove to be very useful to the airport security practitioner. Local intelligence can help immediate application and issues regarding their collection can be addressed through partnerships with local and federal actors. There is a need to incorporate international law, to make essential threat information made available to civil aviation authorities and industry via fail-safe channels.What is another way to look at it? The governments should provide airlines and aviation industry better information regarding the various threats they may face and make risk assessments. These implications should carry on for a longer time frame through international law and a weld developed through appropriate UN frameworks. Achieving these can certainly help make the aviation industry safer
Airport securities should follow many different security technologies and procedures that deliver a continuous response . For example, a passenger can be assigned a number between 0 and 100, indicating a number between 0 and 100 posed by him. The security system can combine different inputs and responses to get an appropriate overall security response, so as to classify the level of threat correctly, and take the needed action. Aviation security experts believe that profiling travelers is the right way to protect airplanes.
What Critics Say About the Problem
It is true that every day, about 100,000 flights fly and land safely, and the safest mode of transportation systems known to humankind are being followed and supported. However, with a string of security breaches at airports recently, it is essential to look beyond the passenger screening and assess other threats. It is important to identify and close the specific gaps in the system, which can lead to appalling mistakes and tragedies. In 2001, through the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was made as a separate item within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The act mandated that all cargo and checked baggage on U.S. flights scanned by explosive detection systems. However, these systems needed to be deployed quickly and universally, but it is not possible for them to be made available everywhere. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the solution proposed?
Aviation security is not only expensive costly, but controversial and contentious (Catalin, 2013). too. Moreover, because of the nature of the menace, it is the most invasive form of security, pushing the civil liberties. However, the threats loom large and are real. With terrorists remaining fixated with attacking airplanes and airports, the challenges in this area remain. It is essential to identify issues and prioritize sources that are helpful in getting concrete solutions.
Privatization was believed to augment aviation security, but one of the immediate decisions taken by the US government after September 9/11overnment was the federalizing of all aviation security, once the movement recognized the poor performance of private security. For a decade now, lots of money has gone into dealing with airline security issues. According to the U.S. Department, Transportation Security Administration (TSA)'s budget for Aviation security is more than a billion. The problem lies in developing an integrated approach for aviation and border security that involves the government, the Department for Transport, Department for Visas and Immigration.
What is needed is a well-coordinated system across different organizations and systems involved in aviation and border security checks. The operators should be given the flexibility and responsibility to follow the security processes competently. Even a well-developed access control security system can give errors, and these could be ignoring the real threat or giving a false alarm. It can be difficult to minimize and control these errors simultaneously, but, those errors can leave a significant impact on the aviation industry, resulting in destruction and death. False alarms can lead to delays in flights with major human and economic implications. A middle ground needs to be found for optimal security.
What are the consequences of profiling travelers? The move of profiling travelers (Elliott, 2009). may be a good one, but is an extremely controversial one as it would violate travelers' privacy and could target some passengers unfairly for more-intense screenings. Already, an enhanced passenger-screening procedures have become a big issue in the media.
Aviation Security strategies have often been criticized for being reactive and backward-looking, and seem to respond to the last observed threat. As the magnitude of the risk to the commercial aviation are still characterized poorly, it is not easy to evaluate the degree to which the risk might get reduced after the introduction of a particular security investment and strategy. Even if one can prove that the risk has decreased, it is difficult to understand as to by what extent it has lowered. One needs a complete understanding of the costs and benefits of certain security measures and only then it can be said correctly of the true costs and effectiveness of the security system. There are many varied policy areas that require immediate funding and attention get closer to the efficient security that is required.
The quest for a more effective system remains an elusive goal, under the cloud of criticism of the governmental security efforts and policies over the years. The continuing burden of efficient aviation security, the pressure of dwindling funds, and other constraints in the government and private sectors have proved to be a challenge all the time.
In recent years, analysts both within and outside have attempted to weigh the costs and benefits of the security invasions. It has been found that the costs of security are complex and have both direct and indirect components working, for both long and short –term. Other components might be less tangible and quantifiable. The studies uncover an unresponsive and inflexible bureaucracy that declines to furnish an adequate level of security and there are many moves to decentralize some security functions and privatize them.
Implications of the Solution
The airline industry has experienced an expansion unrivalled expansion as compared to any other form of transport. The rate and impact of technological change have been truly extraordinary. The nature of its cross-border operations has led to international politics and substantial involvement of governments and politics. Why those aviation security risk management solutions are necessary, and who benefits? The aviation security risk management solutions will not only support security, but also enhance customer experience.
Working with the airport operators and national authorities and use of enhanced technologies will ensure that the security solution works for the airport from the ground up. What generalizations can one make of the proposed solutions and suggestions? Appropriate security measures based on threat & risk assessment will help identify the gap in the provision of appropriate security measures and act accordingly. Timely measurement of the efficiency of current systems will give direction for further improvements and how to meet the new standards offered by regulatory authorities. Leading flow planning and timely implementation will ensure the security considerations are met at every stage.
The airport agencies must work continually to advance passenger screening technologies, and privacy protections must be in place. The robust employment of technology and implementation of procedures related to passenger and cargo screening through excellent intelligence and law enforcement efforts can certainly improve the effectiveness of current airline security measures. The risks and outcomes of terrorist attacks on passenger and cargo aircrafts when checked on a regular basis will certainly reduce those risks. High risk-based security measures, as well as, development of cost-effective, intelligence-driven steps will make sure that the aviation industry is a lot safer.
There is an incessant pressure from the airlines to cut short those wait times for the passengers at the airport. The employment of latest technology and implementation of procedures often overlook concerns for civil rights/civil liberties and completely ignore the potential lost revenue due to the long wait times for passenger and baggage screening. Moreover, there is no one size fits all policy that will work for different airports in different countries. Every airport will need a customized solution to improve its security.
There is certainly a need for better airport security systems, technologies and procedures. Designers, operators, and users of multiple-device security systems are challenged by false alarms (Abeyratne, 2011). The terrorists will continue to adapt and evolve and look for innovative and violent ways to attack aircraft. A solid framework with improved future policies and strategies will help improve aviation security decision making.
Conclusion
Terrorists have always targeted airports and aircraft, even long before the September 2001 attack. The hijacking of TWA 847 and Rome and Vienna massacres of 1985 are not forgotten. How does this relate to our discussion? Well, the vulnerability of general aviation remains high-value targets for the terrorists. The issues of aviation security have been long drawn-out and have been confusing and inconclusive. Every breach of safety at airport outcries for better sharing of information and intelligence sharing. Challenges remain for the proper development of a suitable process and more work needs to be done in the area of trend analysis. Airport security assets can function at their full capacity, only by designing a useful process and leveraging existing infrastructures. Finally, it is also essential to recognize that the threat to aviation security may always not emanate just from jihadists like al Qaeda. In the past, there have been attacks on aircraft by North Korean intelligence officers, Hezbollah militants, Sikh militants, Palestinian, militants and a couple of mentally disturbed individuals. Jihadists and other people who seek to strike aircraft will always study security measures and search for ways of exploiting them.
Substantial progress has been made in the field of aviation security, but, a lot still needs to done in this direction. Policy and security analysis should support sustainable aviation security strategies that are long-term and efficient.
References
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