Airport Security

The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has been working hard to make air travel safer for everyone. Yet most people seem very upset with the changes they have implemented. One used to be able to get to the airport minutes before their flight, running through the terminals to slap their ticket on the counter just as the stewardesses were giving their speech on flight safety. Since horrific incidents such as the airplane hijackings on September 11, 2001, things have dramatically changed.

Now to fly anywhere you must arrive at the airport and be checked into your flight hours prior to your departure time. You cannot carry a vast array of items in your carry-on baggage. You cannot take food or drinks with you from outside of the airport. You must pass through rigorous screening from x-rays to pat-downs to complete searches of all of your baggage.

If you really think about it, is all of this extra security really such a bad thing? Airport security features serve multiple purposes; they protect the airport from attacks and crime, they protect the air crafts themselves and they protect and reassure the general public traveling that they are safe.

Large numbers of people pass through airports and these places are huge targets for terrorism and other crimes since there are so many people packed into such a small space. Airports employ a police force, metal detectors, x-ray machines, explosive device detection and so many more security features to keep people safe.

If these security features prevent would-be attackers from getting weapons and bombs into the terminals and onto planes, isn’t that worth a little bit of an inconvenience to your trip?

~TeCHS