Airport security in North America is a lot of show, and not much action. Of course, that could be said about most government initiatives.
Airport security is designed to put on a show, to give the impression that the government is vigilant, and is doing everything they can to stop terrorism. It’s obvious that millions of dollars have been devoted to purchasing fancy security scanners, and employing thousands of security personnel, to make it appear that the government is protecting us from bad people. When you enter the security line and take off your shoes, you have a visual reminder of how hard the government is working for you; they are even scanning your shoes.
Unfortunately we seldom stop to think about this. Why exactly am I taking off my shoes? Apparently it’s because one guy tried to blow up an airplane with his shoes. He wasn’t successful, but that one deranged lunatic was enough to cause millions of subsequent passengers to suffer the silliness of removing their shoes. They have fancy bomb detecting scanners at the airport; won’t they detect a bomb in my shoes?
They have even started swabbing hands, to look for explosive residue. It’s true. As we went through the airport, my wife, with our ten year old in tow, had her hands swabbed. Do they really think a mother with her child is making bombs? Again, it’s a case of putting on a good show for the rubes.
I have no objection to airport security. In fact, I am a strong supporter of airport security. I don’t want to be on a plane with a terrorist, or a nutcase, who wants to kill me. I support keeping the crazy people off of my plane. My objection is with how airport security is currently handled.
If you want to know how airport security should be done, go to Israel. Israel is located in arguably the most dangerous part of the world. Israel is constantly “at war” with some of their neighbors. If any country was vulnerable to an airplane passenger terrorist attack, it would be Israel. And yet, to the best of my knowledge, no-one has ever successfully hijacked a plane leaving from Israel. Never.
Why? What can we learn from the Israelis?
What we can learn is that the Israelis don’t put on a show for security purposes; they actually provide security.
In North America, we stand in line, waiting for our turn at the ticket counter, or the security line. At Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, while you stand in line security agents approach you, and start asking you questions. There’s a great account of this in an article from the National Post, written by David Asper. They ask questions like:
Who are you? Can you show me your ticket please? Your passport? What were you doing in Israel? Where did you go? Did you visit with anyone? Did anyone give you a gift to take to someone back home? If so, may I see it? What’s it like where you live? Are you looking forward to getting home? Have you been in Israel before? And so on.
The security agents asking the questions are not low paid employees who took a day long course in airport security. These are highly trained professionals, with extensive training, who know exactly what they are doing, and what they are looking for. What are they looking for? Something that “fits the profile”, I assume. Someone who “paid for their ticket with cash, is traveling alone, comes from a place known for its extremism and looks nervous.”
I doubt that the Israelis are concerned about an 80 year old grandmother; that’s not the person that fits the profile.
And yes, I realize that this is not fair. The vast majority of people who travel alone, and pay cash for their tickets, and come from places known for extremism are perfectly good, law abiding people. It’s not fair that they are negatively profiled, but unfortunately, that’s the world we live in.
It’s not fair to those people, but it’s also not fair to me, either. Why would I, a man from Canada, traveling with his wife and two children, be required to take off my shoes? How likely is it that I will be blowing up an airplane, with my shoes, with my wife and children on board? Spending billions of dollars each year to screen my shoes is silly, and offensive. Spend the money looking for real terrorists, not just putting on a show. How would I do it? Here’s my plan for real airplane security:
1 “Lock down” the airport. Security should start at the entrance to airport, not the entrance to the plane. The only people who need to be at the airport are airport personnel, and actual travelers. If you are dropping someone off, or picking someone up, do it on the outskirts of the terminal, not inside. Why? See next point.
2 The airport should be infested with security personnel. Once you enter the airport, you should be subject to constant surveillance. That’s why non-travelers should be kept out of the airport. If you aren’t traveling, you don’t need to be there, but you also don’t need to be screened. The fewer the people, the fewer the screening required.
3 Screen early, and screen often. Copy the Israeli example. Before you get to the ticket counter, or the security checkpoint, security agents should have already said hello, and identified anyone who may require further scrutiny.
4 Use technology. Video cameras should be watching people as they enter the airport, to give on the ground security personnel a head’s up as to who needs to be watched more closely. They use security cameras in casinos in Las Vegas; presumably the same approach can be used in airports. That’s why point #1 above is so important. The fewer the number of people permitted to wander the airport, the fewer people need to be monitored by security.
5 Review passenger lists well in advance of the flight. Security should be reviewing the passenger manifest, and paying special attention to anyone that presents a higher level of risk. Similarly, the Canadian traveling with his wife and family, with no criminal record, should probably be subject to less scrutiny.
So what’s my point? My point is that we should be smarter about air security. Putting on a nice show, and asking a grandmother to take off her shoes, is not security. Questioning passengers is. It’s not a question of spending more money, although obviously airport security is costly. We need to spend smart, not just spend. If we took the resources we use to scan shoes, and put that money into real screening, we would be better off.
One final comment. The purpose of this site is to share my thoughts as to why having the government do everything for you is not a great idea. And yet I have just laid out a plan for very extensive government involvement in your life. I have argued for more security, and more intrusion. How do I reconcile that contradiction?
First, it doesn’t have to be the government that provides airline security. It could be the individual airlines, who presumably would have an incentive to enhance passenger safety, to increase their profits. “Fly the safe airline” could become a marketing slogan.
Second, air travel is not a right; it’s a privilege. I do not have to travel by air. I can drive. I can take the train, or take a cruise ship. If I don’t like this intrusive level of security, I can choose not to fly.
Third, given the choice between being blown up in a plane, or not being blown up, I would prefer the “not” option, and that means some restrictions of my personal liberty is required.
However, I must admit I am not comfortable with any of this. I am not comfortable with a reduction in my personal freedom. I am not comfortable giving the more power to the government. I don’t want them screening my because I want to fly somewhere with my family on vacation. I don’t want them tracking my every move. But I also don’t want to get blown up in an airplane. Life is a series of choices between imperfect alternatives, so I am forced to pick the “least imperfect”. I have to pick, but I don’t have to like it.