Security lines have successful reduced bothersome wait times but there are growing complaints that the bloated Transportation Security Administration (TSA) buildups have not made air travelers any safer.
"We’re still vulnerable… whether it be via something taken into the passenger cabin that we can’t detect at an airport or something being secreted into the cargo hold," said aviation analyst Chris Yates.
Another question:
“Is air travel any safer from militant attacks, three years after a group of men tried to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives?” asks Reuters.
A growing number of analysts say risks remain as great as ever despite the ever increasing number of TSA personnel. And while the industry has tightened security, attackers continue to innovate, and transport systems remain a target of choice.
Critics of the airport-screening process call all this "security theater."
Three Britons were recently found guilty of plotting to kill thousands by blowing up North America-bound airliners in mid-flight suicide attacks with bombs made of liquid explosives.
The suspected al Qaeda plot, just days away from being put into operation according to British detectives, had huge worldwide ramifications leading to tight restrictions on the amount of liquids passengers could take on board aircraft.
"We are still at risk," said security and aviation analyst Yates, noting there is still no widely available system installed at international airports to detect explosives in liquid form, although several technologies are in trials.
“Nor is there a widely-deployed technology to routinely guard against a bomber with explosives hidden in a body cavity — a technique al Qaeda used only last month in Saudi Arabia,” said Reuters.
"Terrorists will innovate to get around airport security," said David Claridge of Janusian security consultants, who points to a lack of common standards among aviation authorities around the world as a continuing vulnerability.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says aviation security has improved since the September 11 attacks, but its website notes a lack of global standards "has created an uncoordinated mess".
Meanwhile, with more efficiency, airline security wait times have been reduced. At Orlando International Airport, for example, the average time recently was under six minutes.
By David Wilkening
