The issue of airport security has been a major concern not just for governments, but also travellers. With the recent rise in insecurity especially incidents of terrorism, every traveller is concerned about their safety while governments are concerned about keeping off the wrong people from crossing over to their countries. Two recent articles in the online versions of The New York Times and The Guardian look at the issue of security in airports. The first article, ‘the truth about airport security during the holidays: we know your snow globe is not a bomb’ is written by Harrington Jason, who has served at Transportation Security Administration, and is also is an MFA candidate at the University of Mississippi. The second article is written by Joe Sharkey who is a columnist, novelist and editor for many newspapers and magazine including the Wall Street Journal. The two articles explore the issue with airport security checks and the inconvenience that it causes travellers. Sharkey’s article looks at the solution to drawbacks in security checks.
Harrington talks of the many setbacks that travellers face at checkpoints that make queues very long. He also talks about the bureaucracy that exists in TSA where many regulations are introduced making the TSA officers have a hard time screening people during holidays when there is a huge traffic of people (Harrington, para. 7). He states that “the regulations are endless – and they end up being enforced inconsistently (10).” This shows how TSA has complicated matters at check-points, ending up frustrating travellers. The article has a bias as it criticizes the operations of TSA without appreciating its importance. The author also expresses his person feelings about his former job since he tells the reader of his dislike (15).
The article by Sharkey details the gains made by TSA in making airport check less tedious through the use of pre-checks. He talks about TSA registering members for pre-checks and intending to use private organizations to increase registration (Sharkey, para 2). He praises the gains made by TSA and states that, “a once widely reviled agency whose public image, in my opinion, has been significantly improved” (para. 5). The article gives a good overview of the improvements made. It however does not provide the reader with a background of the issue and makes the assumption that every reader knows where this is coming from.
Despite both articles looking at different aspects of airport security, Sharkey’s article makes a better reading as it does not adopt the overly critical and personal approach taken by Harrington.
Works Cited
Harrington, Jason. ‘The truth about airport security during the holidays: we know your snow globe is not a bomb.’ The Guardian. (2014). Accessed 5th December 2014. Web.
Sharkey, Joe. ‘Considering the Year in Airport Security, With the T.S.A. Chief’. The New York Times. (2014). Accessed 5th December 5, 2014. Web
