The New Security Changes: More Needs To Be Done

By Billie Vincent

The decision by the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Kip Hawley, to reorient the TSA's screening workforce toward increased emphasis on detecting improvised explosive devices makes sense given the number of suicide bombings. This is particularly appropriate since the actions of the two female suicide bombers of the Russian airplanes in August of 2004 (see ASW, Aug. 30, 2004). However, this increased emphasis on explosives detection does not lessen the need to continue to try to detect and prevent the introduction of edged weapons, e.g., box cutters, small knives, etc., into airline passenger cabins. After all, the 9/11 hijackers succeeded beyond all expectations by successfully using these weapons to eventually kill almost 3,000 people, change our outlook on our personal safety, and effect perhaps a trillion dollars in damage to the world's economy.

A quick analysis of Hawley's plans reveals that not having to take the time to stop passengers at the screening points and confiscate scissors with pointed blades of four inches or less, screwdrivers of seven inches or less, etc., should result in a labor savings. Eliminating the need to confiscate these items may result in a minimal increase in the movement of persons through airport screening checkpoints. On the other hand, the level of alertness and vigilance required of an Xray screener to detect edged weapons, particularly individual blades, is much the same as that required to detect small scissors and similar items that are now to be permitted into passenger aircraft cabins. So, just how much labor savings can the TSA realize with the Dec. 22 changes since it is still necessary and required to detect the small edged weapons but not to worry about certain scissors, screwdrivers, etc.?

There is not universal acceptance of the TSA's new plans. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) objects to the admission of any pointed scissors being allowed into passenger cabins, believing that they constitute a serious threat as a stabbing and/or slashing weapon. If these scissors are of high quality tempered steel they can be honed to an extremely sharp edge and do indeed pose a serious threat as a slashing weapon. The AFA, among other organizations, have raised legitimate arguments about the TSA's plans and these concerns have not been adequately addressed.

One question raised about the effort to speed up the movement of persons through the airport screening checkpoints is why the TSA has not tackled the number and size of the passenger carry-on articles. Following the 9/11 attacks, one of Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Norman Mineta's quick response teams proposed that each passenger be restricted to one carry-on bag plus one personal item. While one might occasionally see a person carrying three or more articles through screening points prior to 9/11, it was a rarity. The quick response team's proposal was really no change to the existing practice - and it continues today. One only has to observe the plethora of articles, and their immense size, carried into passenger cabins to understand the extent of this practice in the U.S. If a real restriction was placed on the permitted articles, as the AFA has proposed numerous times, to a total dimension of 44 inches (a combination of width, height, and length) the difficulty of the TSA security screener's job would be considerably diminished.

The reduction in the number of carry-on articles, and the reduced size, would enable X-ray screeners to more closely scrutinize X-ray images of carry-on articles, boost vigilance, and ease in the detection of the prohibited items. Moreover, it would also result in a reduction in the time it takes to screen each person. So, why hasn't the TSA placed real restrictions on the number and size of carry-on articles? The answer is that it is a political item with some U.S. airlines, as passengers may resent any restrictions on their bag sizes and airlines are notoriously hesitant to upset their clientele. Any real restriction on bag size would also be an economic issue because passengers would have to buy new carry-on bags and would also be unhappy, as most do not trust airlines to get their bags on the same airline as the passenger. These factors, however, do not justify the TSA's failure to act on this matter.

Vincent is president and CEO of Aerospace Services International, Inc., a security consulting firm with clients globally. >>Vincent, e-mail bhv@asiwebsite.com<<