Threats in airports is one of the most unsettling and scary things for someone like myself. I have personally aided in testing the security measures of members working for TSA at our local McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. I worked as an undercover sting for TSA in something called a covert role-play scenario, where a coworker and I made many attempts at breaching the airport security line with items that were not allowed, including firearms, explosives, and drug paraphernalia. Although I cannot give specifics, let's just say somebody got talked to for not doing their job to the best of their ability. Because of my role in assisting in teaching and training our airport security, I am terrified at how easily one individual's slip-up could lead to such a catastrophic event. This subject, like many in our course, provides another excellent example of why it is so important for every person working around aircraft to have the utmost aviation ethics in all that we do.
https://www.bechtel.com/getmedia/cbfef5fb-e16a-4f1e-a38b-1d579faff59e/139129-bechtel-mccarran-airport-las-vegas-nevada-aviation-2010
Firearms on an airplane or near an airport is something that ranks pretty high on the list of things to be extremely observant and cautious of. This is because it is one of the few things that not only provides potential for an extreme threat, but is also something that is allowed at airports and on aircraft. Many people, myself included, will choose to fly with a firearm in checked luggage; which makes the subject that much more important. There are many levels of TSA that provide the opportunity to be able to fly with a firearm, while at the same time providing security for all passengers and employees working at airports.
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TSA has many layers of security that can mitigate this threat; one of which being CBP, or Customs and Border Protection. This organization has more than 60,000 officers and agricultural specialists that ensure terrorists and their weapons stay out of the United States. Often times this is where a large amount of security breach risks take place, including firearm smuggling. This organization along with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which essentially does all of the investigating and evidence gathering for all suspicious people/suspects, work together to ensure the safety of passengers and travelers in and out of the United States.
The more noticeable security measures that are taken by citizens of the United States traveling in airports are the efforts of canines, behavior detection, travel document checkers, checkpoint/transportation security officers, checked baggage, transportation security inspectors, transportation security specialists, federal air marshal service, federal flight deck officers, trained flight crew, law enforcement officers, a hardened cockpit door, and the passengers. All of these efforts are pretty clearly seen and understood by all passengers, and are self-explanatory in how they help in efforts to reduce the likelihood of an incident with a firearm in an airport or on an aircraft.
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With all of that security that TSA offers, it begs the question of how anyone would smuggle a firearm through all of them and onto an aircraft! Through personal experience, I have the key to cover the final hole in this process, making airport security almost foolproof: STOP BEING SO GENTLE WHEN FRISKING. In the world we live in today everyone is so concerned about hurting someone's feelings or doing something that will get them in trouble. Priorities are not falling in the right order and that is exactly how people get hurt. It happens and maintenance, and it's happening in security. If a handicapped or injured person is going through security, and cannot go through the metal detector/scanner (say due to a wheelchair), do you know what they do instead? They let them bypass the scanner completely and do a quick once-over wand scan (which they assume is only peeping due to the metal on the wheelchair) and send you on your way. Unbelievable! If someone is has a habilitating injury or condition that inhibits them from getting out of a wheelchair, then they assume the risk of some discomfort when going through security. If anyone has a problem with that then they can turn around and not fly. The safety and security of our United States citizens is far more important than Joe Jock, or Aunt Meg feeling some discomfort and even some slight pain in order for TSA to do their job with integrity and ethics to ensure this person does not have any malicious intent. Priorities.
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Sources:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (2022 January, 4). "About CBP." cbp.gov.
https://www.cbp.gov/about#:~:text=With%20more%20than%2060%2C000%20employees,lawful%20international%20travel%20and%20trade.
FBI. (2022 February, 2). "What We Investigate: Joint Terrorism Task Forces." fbi.gov.
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism/joint-terrorism-task-forces
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