Air Travel Before and After 9-11

Rachel Weskalnies

Air Travel Before and After 9-11

On September 11, 2001 there was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (also known as the Twin Towers) in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC. These terrorists basically decided that they didn’t like what America stands for: freedom, liberty, and the rights of men and women. So on the morning of September 11, 2001, they hijacked four planes and attacked America in a terrible way. Hundreds of people were on the planes, and thousands of people lost their lives through these attacks.

Before 9/11 travelers could get to the airport 20 to 15 minutes before their flight and still be able to get on the airplane. You could also go through screening more quickly at the airport. Now, after the attack you have to get to the airport earlier to get on your flight and the airport security has more invasive searches including the elderly and young children. “Delta, United, US Airways and Northwest Airlines all declared bankruptcy following the tragedy” (Thomas 1). When passengers travel, they will be required to provide the following Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD) to their airline when making a reservation: Name as it appears on government-issued I.D. when traveling, Date of Birth, Gender, Redress Number (if available)  The airline will transmit this information to Secure Flight, who uses it to perform watch list matching. This serves to prevent individuals on the No Fly List from boarding an aircraft and to identify individuals on the Selectee List for enhanced screening. After matching passenger information against government watch lists, Secure Flight transmits the matching results back to airlines.Due to difference in boarding pass systems, boarding passes may not always display the exact name you provided when booking your travel. The name you provide when booking your travel is used to perform the watch list matching before a boarding pass is ever issued, so small differences should not impact your travel. You should ensure that the name provided when booking your travel matches the government ID that you will use when traveling. Small differences between the passenger's ID the passenger's reservation information, and the boarding pass (such as the use of a middle initial instead of a full middle name or no middle name/initial at all, hyphens or apostrophes) should not cause a problem for the passenger (Secure Flight Program 1).

            The airplane security also became more secure. Standard cockpit doors were replaced with Intruder/ bullet resistant doors containing entry codes. Procedures were put into action that required food carts that were to be placed in the isle in front of the cockpit door. So when the pilot leaves the cockpit it will prevent anyone from possibly entering. Also, Pilots were permitted to Carry Guns in the cockpit as Federal Flight Deck Officers.

Even though this attack has changed America and the people that live here, I think we should still stay strong and keep our faith in what our country stands for and honor the memory of all members of the US military who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the conflicts since 9/11.

Thomas, Mark. "9/11's impact on aviation industry." American Public Media September 8, 2006: 1. Web.        19 Sep 2010. <http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/09/08/911s_impact_on_aviation_industry

Secure Flight Program, . "Secure Flight Program." Transportation Security Administration | U.S. Department of Homeland Security N/A: 1. Web. 19 Sep 2010. <http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/>

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ni_911_wp.pdf