Inpursuit of 'A Better Way' to build aviation security
Published: 28/03/2011 at 12:00 AM
Upset by the growing costs, frustrations and complications of the US air-travel security apparatus, the US Travel Association (USTA) has issued a major report insisting that there "can, and must" be a better way of doing so.
Entitled exactly that, A Better Way: Building a World-Class System for Aviation Security, the report calls for the replacement of a one-size-fits-all security screening system at US airports with a tailor-made "fast-track" system that will be based on "risk assessment" and allow the overwhelmingly vast majority of low-risk travellers to clear security quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.
Indirectly, the report is a damning indictment of the plethora of inconsistent rules and regulations, duplication of standards and constant adding of tools and technologies that have simply been "layered" on top of each other in the 10 years since the 9/11 attacks.
The USTA report says: "The current aviation security system is discouraging Americans from flying and contributing to a decline in productivity among those who choose to fly.
"According to a 2010 survey conducted by Consensus Research, American travellers would take an additional two to three flights per year if the hassles in security screening system were eliminated.
"These additional flights would add nearly $85 billion in consumer spending and 900,000 jobs to the American economy."
The report quotes the same research as noting that a large majority of Americans consider today's security screening system to be "inconsistent," "stressful" and "embarrassing."
The report says: "When discussing traveller frustrations, two-thirds of air travellers (66%) believed air travel security was a complicated problem and were frustrated by what they view to be heavy-handed procedures at airport checkpoints.
"The survey also found that travellers' frustration with the system was not limited to just one or two security measures but include a whole range of issues."
Adds the report, "The President of the United States acknowledged the challenges with today's system when he joked in the 2011 State of the Union address that we should support high-speed rail as an alternative to flying because, 'it will be faster than flying-without the pat-down'."
It says: "Unfortunately, our aviation system is not a symphony of tools and technologies playing in harmony and efficiently moving passengers through security, but instead a cacophony of disjointed parts that are not built to systematically manage risk in the best way possible.
"Because of the lack of analytical tools and risk management metrics, as well as general public acceptance that there is risk inherent in air travel (as there is with every other mode of travel), new technologies, solutions or tools are often deployed by TSA only in reaction to public events and political pressure."
According to the report, "Is today's security screening system the most cost effective and efficient that the United States can possibly produce? No. The country that put a man on the moon, invented the Internet and creates daily innovations in manufacturing can and must do better."
Its key recommendation is for the US Congress to authorise the TSA "to implement a new, voluntary, government-run Trusted Traveller program that utilises a risk-based approach to checkpoint screening, with the goal of refocusing resources on the highest risk passengers."
The report also suggests that the Department of Homeland Security "should enable certain low-risk passengers who are travelling to another domestic airport to forego checked baggage and passenger screening upon landing in the US."
It also calls for the DHS to "expand access to international trusted traveller programmes for international passengers entering the US, as well as lead efforts to establish a multinational network of streamlined entry procedures for low-risk travellers."
Says the report, "One of the greatest challenges CBP and TSA face is identifying international travellers who may pose a threat, distinguishing them from the mass of the travelling public and subjecting them to additional scrutiny in a manner that facilitates the travel of other passengers."
The report acknowledges that the absence of any successful attacks in the US since 9/11 can be construed as "proof" that all the existing security systems have worked.
However, it adds, "as aviation security continues to evolve, the combination of new screening procedures, technologies, regulatory requirements, and evolving threats are putting increased strain on aviation stakeholders and the travelling public.
"Many are starting to question whether the current system strikes the proper balance between facilitating the movement of goods and people, and providing protection from the continued threat of terrorist attack."
Nothwithstanding the temporary downturn in air travel caused by the recession, the FAA predicts that yearly passenger totals will grow from 713 million domestic and international passengers in FY 2010 to nearly 1.3 billion in FY 2031.
"In the next five years alone, FAA predicts that passenger levels will grow by an average of 3.7% per year, and continue to grow at an average of 2.5% from FY 2016 to FY 2031.
"With such steep rises in passenger levels, TSA will be hard pressed to control the growth of its budget, wait times at security checkpoints will increase, and the burdens of the current system will slow economic recovery unless Congress and TSA develop a long-term, risk based strategy to focus assets and resources at the highest priority threats," the report says.
Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)
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