• Introduction

• History of airport security

• The Transportation Security Administration
• Security at commercial service airports
- Passenger screening
- Checked-baggage screening
- Employee identification
- Controlled access
- Biometrics
- Perimeter security
• Security at general aviation airports
- The twelve-five & private charter programs
• The future of airport security
- CAPPS II
- Trusted Traveler Program
 INTRODUCTION

“SECURITY”-most significant issue

Concerns all areas & all users of

airport

Threat to security in
infrastructure, policies &
procedures

Security procedures are designed

to deter, prevent & respond to
criminal acts
 1930 – 1958, 23 hijackings reported
 1930, Peruvian revolutionaries seized Pan American mail plane
 July 1947, 3 Romanians killed an aircrew member
 November 1, 1955, Jack Graham placed bomb in luggage
 January 1960, suicide bomber in National Airlines
 1959, rise of Fidel Castro in Cuba increased hijackings
 May 1961, armed guards used to prevent hijackings.
 August 1969, Arab terrorists hijacked U.S. aircraft & diverted it
 October 1969, U.S. Marine sent a TWA plane on a 17-hour circuitous journey. FBI
agents thwart hijacking & shots were fired by hijacker of U.S. plane.
 March 1970, copilot was killed & pilot & hijacker injured.
 June 1971, first passenger death in a U.S. hijacking occurred
 January 1969, hijacking of 8 airliners to Cuba, FAA created Task Force on the
Deterrence of Air Piracy.
 Task force developed hijacker “profile” that could be used along with
magnetometers in screening passengers.
 By 1970, 5 airlines started using system
 September 1970, hijacking by Arab terrorists blew 4 airliners
 September 11, 1970, anti-hijacking program was announced
 1968 - 1972, hijacking of U.S. & international aircraft was at its peak.
 5-year period & 364 hijackings worldwide.
 Security issues became a significant concern and created need for congressional
action.
 HISTORY OF AIRPORT SECURITY

March 18, 1972, security regulations made.

1978, formalized within FAA requiring
Airport operators to submit FAA a security
program containing following elements:

• Listing of each air operations area

• Identification of areas with little or no

protection against unauthorized access

• A plan to upgrade security of air

operations with a time schedule
for each improvement project
 October 1972, 4 hijackers Cuba killed a ticket agent.
 November 1972, 3 criminals wounded copilot of a Southern Airways flight.
 December 1972, FAA issued rule of inspection of carry-on baggage & scanning of
all passengers mandatory at start of 1973.
 August 1974, anti-hijacking bill signed sanctioned universal screening.
 1981, FAA incorporated regulations as FAR Part 108—Airplane Operator Security.
 No scheduled airliners were hijacked in USA until September 1976, when
Croatian nationalists commandeered a jetliner.
 September 1974 & December 1975 bomb exploded in U.S. planes which caused
airports to locate lockers where they could be monitored.
 June 1985, Lebanese terrorists diverted TWA plane. 1 passenger was murdered
 International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985 made federal
air marshals a permanent part of FAA workforce.
 December 21, 1988, a bomb destroyed Pan American flight (radio-cassette)
 Early in 2001, a panel of Scottish judges convicted a Libyan intelligence officer for
his role in crime.
 Positive Passenger Baggage Matching (PPBM)
 Aviation Security Improvement Act (technology and procedures)
 September 11, 2001, involving 4 aircraft hijackings in US 19 Al-Qaida terrorists
 TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Aviation and Transportation

Security Act (ATSA) signed

New agency, Transportation

Security Administration (TSA)
protect transportation systems

to ensure freedom of movement

for people & commerce.

December 10, 2001, TSA’s first

undersecretary of transportation.
 TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

May 2002, Undersecretary resigned

March 2003, TSA was moved into US

Department of Homeland Security.

TSA employed workforce of over 55,200

passenger & baggage screeners at 429
airports in US, supervised by 155 federal
security directors (FSD) with an
administrative staff of over 600 regional
& national managers.
Transportation
security
regulations
(TSRs)

Airport
Security
Plan (ASP)
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS

Commercial
State & local airports Security
governments,
In areas include
Event of 9/11 Changing rules, & organizations
Passenger
regulations, representing
screening,
Action of ATSA policies & members of
procedures aviation baggage screening,
associated with industry made employee
identification &
Formation of TSA airport security major controlled access
contributions to & perimeter
future security security
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS
PASSENGER SCREENING

Baggage screening process has

most significant impacts on airport
terminal planning and operations

Passenger screening facilities

 magnetometer (weapons)

 manual search

Carry-on baggage screening

 x-ray machine

 explosive trace detection (ETD)

 manual search.
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS
CHECKED-BAGGAGE SCREENING

January 1, 2003, 100% Explosive

EDS
Detection System (EDS) rule

“Computed Tomography” Technology

to detect metal & trace explosives

Few EDS because of size, expense &

production rates of this system
ETD
Use of Electronic Trace Detection
(ETD) systems or manual search
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS
EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION
“SIDA badge” (color coded or
marked to identify areas)

Holders include
 airport employees

 air carrier employees

 concessionaires

 contractors

 government employees (ATC,ASF)

For obtaining it, persons must

complete an application & undergo
criminal history records check
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS
CONTROLLED ACCESS

Controlled access through doors to

areas within SIDA & employee-only
restricted areas, is enforced by
control systems ranging from
 simple key locks

 smart-access technologies

 calibrations of SIDA & pass code

Solution to “Piggybacking” is
revolving turnstiles with a one-
rotation limit per access
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS
BIO-METRICS

Measure and analyze human body

characteristics

Devices consist of reader or scanning

device, software

SIDA areas

Controlling general public proves

more difficult

Technology to prevent unauthorized

access to security-sensitive areas
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS
PERIMETER FENCING

4 Common methods include

 Perimeter fencing
 Controlled access gates
 Area lightening
 Patrolling

Structure circling perimeter of

airport to prevent access. Vary in
design, height & type

Standards are recommended by

FAA Advisory Circular 107-1
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS
CONTROLLED ACCESS GATES

Provide way for persons & vehicles to

enter secured area from airport perimeter

Controlled access mechanism

 Key entry
 Combination of locks
 Authenticating machines
 Manual guard personnel

Limited gates recommended

Gates specifications to be taken into

considerations
 SECURITY AT COMMERCIAL SERVICES AIRPORTS
SECURITY LIGHTING
 Continuous lighting (series of
fixed lights arranged)

 Standby lighting (automatically

or manually turned on. Limited
use )

 Movable lighting (manually

operated movable floodlights)

 Emergency lighting (duplicate of

any one of aforementioned
systems. Limited use)
 SECURITY AT GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORTS

Threat due to easy access

Biggest threat is load-carrying

capability of aircraft of such airports
enables delivery of explosives,
compensating for their relative lack
of kinetic energy or fuel.

No frequent patrolling

Equipment is antiquated or under

maintained

Issues due to 9/11

 SECURITY AT GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORTS
RECOMMENDATIONS

 Outdoor signage prominently displayed near areas of public access

 Signage indicating phone number for reporting suspicious activity

 Pilots should be advised to be on lookout for suspicious activity on

or near airports, including:
- Aircraft with unusual or unauthorized modifications
- Persons loitering for extended periods in vicinity of air operations areas
- Pilots who appear to be under control of others
-Persons wishing to obtain aircraft without presenting proper credentials
- Anything that doesn’t “look right”
 SECURITY AT GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORTS

AOPA has partnered with TSA to

develop a nationwide Airport
Watch Program that uses general
aviation users as eyes & ears for
observing & reporting suspicious
activity.

AOPA Airport Watch is supported by a

centralized government-provided toll-
free hotline (1-866-GA-SECURE) &
system for reporting & acting on
information provided by general
aviation pilots
 SECURITY AT GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORTS
THE TWELVE-FIVE AND PRIVATE CHARTER PROGRAMS

Twelve Five program

Any aircraft with takeoff weight of 12,500
pounds or more must be searched before
departure & all persons on board and their
accessible property must be screened before
boarding aircraft

Private charter program

Aircrafts used for private charter
operations with takeoff weight of 45,000
kilograms or with a passenger seating
configuration of 61 or more must ensure all
passengers and their carry-on baggage are
screened prior to aircraft boarding.
 THE FUTURE OF AIRPORT SECURITY
Reactive approach against criminal threats
has lead to 2 consequences
(1) reduction in number of attacks from a
current type of threat
(2) creation of new threats against
civil aviation that system has not been
prepared to mitigate

Proactive approach requires screening of

activities by technology & human expertise

 Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-

Screening System (CAPPS II)
 Trusted Traveler Program
 Aviation system needs to be addressed in a much more proactive manner.
Prioritizing airport security has resulted in developments in security technology &
increased security funding & has led to addressing critical issues.

Protecting against unknown future threats is an imperfect science & as such future of
airport security will always be an unknown entity. Concerns for safe, secure &
efficient traveling will always be a top priority for civil aviation system & it can be
assured that efforts to make system as secure as possible will continue
to be held in top priority for foreseeable future.
 SO WHAT DID WE LEARN???

• History of airport security threats & associated legislative action

• Organizational structure of Transportation Security Administration.

• Various security sensitive areas around airports

• Facilities located at airports that are part of the post-September 11, 2001,
security environment.

• Differences in security procedures between commercial service & general

aviation airports.

• Various technologies that are being developed to enhance airport security.