Transportation Security

A Global Shift

By Jeffrey Lynn · March 2008

Today, safeguarding a transportation site is more complex than ever

A Global Shift

If you don’t think the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, continues to have strong repercussions throughout the world, then you haven’t traveled much in the last six years. Security is still the word du jour—perhaps even more so as time goes on. Transportation venues continue to protect themselves from terrorist threats.


Down to Earth

By Barry Willingham · March 2008

Airports move on from post-9/11 panic

One of the first reactionary attempts to bolster security after 9/11 occurred at airports. Immediately after air service was reinstated, the public saw uniformed Marines armed with M-16s at every security checkpoint, concrete barriers at each entry point, security guards ransacking passengers’ luggage and, of course, taller fences going up around airfield perimeters. As with most things in life, an unexpected event usually generates an unexpected— and sometimes irrational— response. Such was the case with the nation’s aviation facilities.


A Message for the Masses

By David George · January 2008

Mass notification systems enhance life safety

A Message for the Masses

Towering high-rises, sprawling college campuses and mass transit hubs can all have hundreds or thousands of people occupying them at any given moment. When a crisis emerges, it’s critical to protect lives, and that job becomes difficult when people are spread throughout a facility or across a wide area.


Where Checkpoint Screening Goes Wrong

By Ralph C Jensen · January 2008

The last thing you want to find out while flying from one city to another is that airport security has been compromised. With so many people choosing flights as a preferred mode of transportation, airport security is paramount.


Sky Raiders

December 2007

High-traffic airport installs security system to help catch thieves on land and in air

Sky Raiders

Today’s airports are at the frontline of homeland security. Checking for shoe bombs, banned liquids and suspected terrorists are part of the daily routine for airport security personnel. In fact, airport vulnerability has become such an issue that the Department of Homeland Security assigns the airline industry its own threat level designation. For example, airports can be assigned to threat level orange, meaning “High Risk of Terrorist Attacks” while the rest of the nation is at yellow, or “Elevated Risk.”


Poll

What should the AirTran pilots have done after being told of remarks from Muslim passengers on the New Year’s Day flight?