Kip Hawley knows that airport security is broken, because he headed the TSA for years, and now he suggests how to fix it:
1. No more banned items: Aside from obvious weapons capable of fast, multiple killings—such as guns, toxins and explosive devices—it is time to end the TSA’s use of well-trained security officers as kindergarten teachers to millions of passengers a day. The list of banned items has created an “Easter-egg hunt” mentality at the TSA. Worse, banning certain items gives terrorists a complete list of what not to use in their next attack. Lighters are banned? The next attack will use an electric trigger.
2. Allow all liquids: Simple checkpoint signage, a small software update and some traffic management are all that stand between you and bringing all your liquids on every U.S. flight. Really.
3. Give TSA officers more flexibility and rewards for initiative, and hold them accountable: No security agency on earth has the experience and pattern-recognition skills of TSA officers. We need to leverage that ability. TSA officers should have more discretion to interact with passengers and to work in looser teams throughout airports. And TSA’s leaders must be prepared to support initiative even when officers make mistakes. Currently, independence on the ground is more likely to lead to discipline than reward.
4. Eliminate baggage fees: Much of the pain at TSA checkpoints these days can be attributed to passengers overstuffing their carry-on luggage to avoid baggage fees. The airlines had their reasons for implementing these fees, but the result has been a checkpoint nightmare. Airlines might increase ticket prices slightly to compensate for the lost revenue, but the main impact would be that checkpoint screening for everybody will be faster and safer.
5. Randomize security: Predictability is deadly. Banned-item lists, rigid protocols—if terrorists know what to expect at the airport, they have a greater chance of evading our system.
Apparently he didn’t have the political capital to get any of that done while he was “heading” the Transportation Security Administration.
“Apparently he didn’t have the political capital to get any of that done while he was ‘heading’ the Transportation Security Administration.”
… or he didn’t want his head to be the one on the chopping block if someone managed to sneak by.
If you view security theater through the lens of dangers to the TSA instead of dangers to passengers, it makes perfect sense.
“No security agency on earth has the experience and pattern-recognition skills of TSA officers”
Um, NO! The only thing TSA personnel can recognize are big boobs and unattended electronics.