Airport security is an issue that has been creating a lot of fear throughout the public. After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, airport security was reviewed and several changes were put into place in order to keep up with both the spread of disease and the creative ideas terrorists have used, some of the changes reducing the risk to fly. Before the September 11 attack, there were several issues associated with airport security. Airport security was considered a "joke" before the attack due to their ease and lax behavior. Riding an airplane was almost as easy as riding a train. The security at the time was run by the airlines themselves, providing their own employees. It was very simple to bring something that was prohibited onto the plane. All one had to do was just put any of those objects into a bag. They only checked people through metal detectors rather than also checking peoples bags which was a huge mistake. They just asked a couple of questions of what you had in your bag and that was it. According to an article by the New York Times, terrorists were spotted months in advance to the attacks testing all aspects of security within the airport (Sperry 1). They took several photos and videos directly in front of officials who did absolutely nothing to stop any incidents. The fact that almost none of the officials found anything about this suspicious or even decided not to tell anyone else about it was mind blowing. A man by the name of Stephen J. Wallace reported the terrorists to officials who just ignored him and let them board the planes. The author of the article in the New York Times, Sperry, also states that on the day of the attack, they brought several boxes of boxcutters and knives onto the planes., which are all prohibited items. Several changes were needed in order to fix these problems. .
Modifications such as new rules, regulations, and technology were placed in the airport security system to have better and more efficient plans to optimize safety after the attacks.