CRJ 307 Research Paper

Thomas Woodburn Research Paper

Thomas WoodburnProfessor Raymond Philo

November 25, 2014CRJ 307

Research Paper: Israeli Airport Security of the airline ELAL and

TSA in the United States post 9/11

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Abstract

As a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the

World Trade Center, the federal government needed a quick

response to help the security of our nation. The 9/11

attacks prospected the way we approach the aviation and

counter terrorism strategy of our nation. The United

States had to develop a way to protect the safety of the

passengers regarding the screening procedures. In Israel

today, passengers at every major Western airport are

subjected to heightened levels of security screening that

not only are inconvenient, but also raise important

questions about the treatment of members of specific groups

that are seen as presenting special security risks. Both

of these nations raise many problems the way passengers are

allowed in and out of the country. To determine the

operational efficacy of screening procedures, including the

most recently added layer of aviation security, Behavior

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Detection Officers (BDOs), this project conducted a review

of available literature from subject matter experts and case

studies, and analyzed Israel’s national carrier El Al

Airlines. It was found that although budgetary constraints

and advances in screening technology limit the U.S.

aviation security strategy, it is taking considerable

measures to implement procedures that effectively mitigate

the terrorist threat. This shows that the risk based

security plans are growing and adapting quickly and are very

important to the discovery of passengers that of are at a

high risk. It also important to note that ethnicity plays

a vital role in predicting the way passengers attitudes

change during the airport security process. These policies

and mindset both concur with both the United States and

Israeli aviation security.

There were two major events pre 9/11 that the nation

demanded for better security in the department of aviation.

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The first was the increase in the incidence of hijackings

during the late 1960s and early which resulted in the

establishment of Anti-Hijacking Program of the Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA). The second event was the

destruction of Pan American Airlines Flight 103 over

Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, which resulted

in the creation of the President's Commission on Airline

Security and Terrorism in 1989 and the enactment of the

recommendations of that commission into the Aviation

Security Improvement Act of 1990. On September 11, 1970,

President Richard Nixon created “a program to deal with

airplane hijacking which ordered air carriers to deploy

“surveillance and equipment and techniques to all

appropriate airports in the United States.” The President

further communicated and worked with the Department of

Defense and Transportation to further evaluate what tasks

would be done to strengthen this part of the nation.

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According to Schwartz, he explains that on February 1,

1972:

“The FAA issued a rule requiring air carriers to use a

screening system, acceptable to the FAA that would

require screening all passengers "by one or more of the

following systems: behavioral profile, magnetometer,

identification check, physical search.”

Hijackings continued and on December 5, 1972, the FAA

issued emergency rules that required screening all

passengers and carry-on baggage on all certified, scheduled

passenger aircraft. The anti-hijacking or screening program

currently used by U.S. air carriers is almost matching to

the program opened in 1972. This program requires air

carriers to implement a security program capable of

preventing the introduction of weapons and explosive or

flammable devices aboard an aircraft. Since the creation of

this rule, the screening program has been improved in terms

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of training procedures, x-ray and metal-detector standards,

access control specifications, employment standards, and

testing requirements and metal-detector standards, access

control specifications, employment standards, and testing

requirements.

Pre September 11th attacks the nation did not have the

policies security that we had today. According to Badi

Hasisi and David Weisburd, In 1997, Vice President Al

Gore’s Commission on Aviation Safety and Security supported

the development of a profiling system in aviation

procedures, yet recommended that no profile should be based

on citizens’, “national origin, racial, ethnic, religious

or gender characteristics.” The general public largely

supports the identification of high-risk groups at the

airport. “A recent Gallup Poll in the United States

indicated that 71 percent of Americans endorse the use of

profiling to single out airline passengers, based on their

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age, ethnicity, or gender, for more intensive security

searches before they board U.S. flights (pg. 2).”

The last decade has caused concern over the consequences of

the 9/11 attacks. The concern was based over the security

agencies in airport security. Zogby International and the

Arab American Institute (AAI) conducted a survey of 508

randomly selected Arab Americans between October 8 and 10,

2001 (Arab American Institute Foundation 2001). Sixty-one

percent of those polled indicated that they were “worried

about the long term effects of discrimination against Arab

Americans” caused by the post-9/11 situation, and 20

percent said that they had “personally experienced

discrimination because of their ethnicity” since the

attacks. There was 45 percent of respondents that stated

that they know someone who has experienced such

discrimination (pg. 2)” This study is very important to the

realization for racial profiling and the way Arab Americans

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are suffering due to these ethnic discrimination.

Legitimacy is a very important factor for the policing and

security procedures such as screening at airports. The

more trust that the citizens place in the agents hands of

authority the more the authority are willing to invest in

them. The more people are willing to trust in police, the

better chance and assistance to identifying suspects or

offenders. Citizens who do cooperate with the authority of

a police force, they are more likely to be treated fairly.

“A very important question concerns the impact of the

legitimacy of the airport security process. It is important

because the literature on policing, along with qualitative

observations at the airport and interviews with security

personnel, teaches us those passengers with a negative

attitude toward the security process tend to come into

conflict with security staff, which in turn makes the

process harder to carry out and may even complicate it.

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Irate passengers tend to be held back and asked to go

through even more thorough security checks (Hasisi and

Weisburd pg.6)” The many conflicts regarding this matter

has given the passengers the a sense of hostility due to the

fact that they might have a feeling of persecuted and

burdened.

September 11, 20001 caused one of the most dramatic

occurrences in our nations history. From that day on, we

responded quickly to due whatever it was to do to protect

our nation from terrorism. Airport security has

implemented programs to better identity terrorists at

airports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

was created in 2001and its duties was to find the problems

in airline security in the United States. The Department

of Homeland Security who created the agency said its mission

was to “protect the Nation’s transportation systems to

ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.”

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During that time period the TSA has hired over 30,000

screeners and almost 150 federal security directors and

deputy directors to cover nearly 400 airports across the

nation. Many programs and technology were established by

the TSA and has an immediate impact. The Behavior

Detection Officers (BDO) established TSA officers to speak

with every passenger passing through the security

checkpoint. The main reason behind this was to detect the

suspicious behavior of passengers. Unnecessary behavior

will not be tolerated according to the TSA. The Advanced

Imaging Technology Software (AIT) was established post

9/11. This technology uses millimeter wave machines that

show a silhouette of the person being scanned on the

screen. The TSA initial imaging technology was

controversial in the beginning. The first technology used

to show nude pictures of the passengers and many thought it

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was invading their privacy. The Crewmember System was

established to identify employment verification for airline

pilots. Explosives Detection Technology was created to

detect the threats in passenger’s baggage and trace the

levels of explosive materials. Closed-circuit video

surveillance allowed advance techniques to help capture

every move of passengers in the airport. Also, the face

recognition software that is used is able to identify

suspects by comparing their photos to the ones in government

databases. The TSA has ordered for a policy where they

have limited the quantity of liquids. After the foiled

attack on a trans-Atlantic flight in 2006, airlines

security has become tighter regarding carrying liquid on

board. Al Qaeda had planned to blow up several flights in

mid-air using liquid explosives. These are binary

explosives, they don't look like explosive compounds

separately, but when mixed with two different liquids

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together it can be very powerful. After a number of

extensive explosives testing, TSA has declared that

liquids, aerosols, and gels in small quantities are safe to

bring on flight. TSA advises declaration of larger

quantities of liquids before inspection at the checkpoint.

Passengers who are 18 and older who are identified as an

“adult” need to show authentic identity proof in order to go

through the checkpoint and ultimately on their flight. The

Department of Homeland Security has fenced people from

entering the airports waiting premises without flight

tickets and identification cards. Documents such as a US

passport, DHS-designated enhanced drivers license, and

Department of Motor Vehicle identity cards are needed at

airport gates. In 1972, a sniffer dog-named Brandy found a

bomb on board in a flight outbound from JFK New York to Los

Angeles. Since then canine detection is used as a part of

the security system at the airports. Post 9/11, every

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airport security used sniffer dogs to detect explosives in

case unidentified baggage was found. TSA trains canines and

handlers to TSA-certification standards and grants funds for

canine efficiency. One of the compulsory steps of the

security pat down is the electronic gadget check.

According to the TSA, laptops and other electronics are

kept separately in a bin for X-ray scan. TSA has urged

laptop manufacturers to design bags that will produce a

clear image of the laptop from inside the bag when

undergoing X-ray screening. More than 40 manufacturers have

come forward with prototypes for testing with TSA.

On the opposite side of the spectrum in Israel, the El

Al airlines are argued to be best in airport security. EL

Al has set the standard for security and many companies

around the world has tried to imitate their practices. the

El Al security system emphasizes the identification of

people who could be a threat, rather than the detection of

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objects that could be used to hijack or destroy an

airplane. The system used to identify people who could be a

threat is illustrated in which identifies five types of

people who could pose a threat to an airplane. Ranging from

naive terrorists, passengers who are unaware that they are

carrying dangerous objects, to suicide terrorists who

intentionally carry dangerous objects to destroy the

airplane and kill everyone on board, including themselves.

El Al has also developed psychological profiles of these

individuals and a passenger-interrogation technique designed

to identify them during check-in and before boarding.

Israel airport security practices were first established in

1968 due to the hijacking of an El Al. Members of the

Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine (PELP) hijacked

the plane, which was in route from Rome to Tel Aviv and

forced the plan to land in Algiers. This triggered the

country of Israel to establish terrorist profiles and with

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this they created the special department of aviation

security. According to Hasisi and Weisburd:

“Airport security procedures in Israel are roughly made

up of four circles of security: early detection outside

the airport zone, inside the airport zone, inside the

terminal, and inside the aircraft. In the terminal,

the third circle, the airport staff identifies high-

risk travelers based on at least three sources. The

first source is the screening of passenger lists before

passengers even arrive at the airport. This screening

is based mainly on intelligence sources, which create

watch lists. The second source is passenger screening

managed by a data mining system known as the Computer

Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System (CAPPS)

(pg.7).”

The CAPP obtains data from a number of different sources

including mostly from airlines and travel agencies and

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collects the information needed about the passenger’s f

light habits, travel records and other necessary data. One

of the most important factors is the questioning which is

about a 30 second procedure, which checks the passport

check, luggage screening and the metal detector process.

It is very popular that agencies are allowed to save the

resources that would be dedicated to collecting intelligence

on individual citizens.

There are a number of different procedures and security

clearances at the EL AL airport. The security at the main

hub is closely monitored on Closed Circuit Television

(CCTV. There are fully armed guards, police officers as

well as officers that are in plain clothes whom patrol the

premises of the terminals. At the check in counters, the

El AL has swabs taken of carry-on luggage and are examined

using hi-tech bomb sniffers. They security used a hi-tech

liquid explosive detecting devices on passengers personal

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belongings both check in and carry-on. The luggage is then

stored in a secure room that is guarded by the EL AL

personnel very tightly. The baggage and the cargo then go

through a chamber on the ground. This simulates the

pressure in the compartment during the flight test to test

for the bombs that set off at high altitudes. The Air

marshals also play an important role in the airline

security. They appear to be in plain clothes who are

specialized trained in unarmed combat, and special tactics

rescue procedures. They are able to detect and find

security threats that occur during the flight. EL AL has

recently made a policy that at least one air marshal must be

on board for all EL AL flights. The cockpit and floors has

established new requirements as well. The fortified double

cockpit doors that are lined with Kevlar and now have been

proven to be bullet resistant. The double door system

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allows only one door to be open at one time. The doors are

code locked and the door that gives access to the cockpit

can only be open with authorization from a member of the

flight deck. The reinforced steel flooring separating the

passenger cabin area from the baggage holds area that would

serve as a layer of protection in the case of an explosion.

The flight guard has implemented some new measures as well.

All aircrafts are now equipped with infrared countermeasures

through the system called “Flight Guard.” The Flight Guard

was developed by Israeli Aerospace Industries to defend the

El Al’s aircraft against surface to air missiles. The

basic military flare system that would project flares in the

wake of the aircraft causing any missiles to detonate a

considerable distance away from the aircraft’s tail.

In more recent news regarding the EL Al airways, the

company has announced that the national airline of Israel

will be directing flights between Boston and Tel Aviv

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starting in the summer of 2015. According to Massachusetts

Governor Deval Patrick, “the non-stop service to Tel Aviv

will open new commercial and economic opportunities for

Massachusetts and the region.” Governor Patrick led a

major trade mission to Israel and promised to work and

restore the Boston airline route. Over 7,000 people are

working in Massachusetts for the Israeli-founded companies.

One of those people includes New England Patriots owner and

philanthropist Robert Kraft. Also, El Al has also

recently announced that it is working on a codeshare

agreement with the popular U.S. airline JetBlue, which is

the biggest carrier at Boston’s Logan airport and New York’s

JFK airport. The codeshare will enable El Al passengers to

connect to and from JetBlue flights on a single ticket.

Airline security is very essential to the protection of

our domestic and international borders. Our

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counterterrorism tactics with the TSA and the Department of

Homeland Security improve each year. The new policies

implemented by our federal government have sustained a true

sense of secureness for the American people who travel in

the air. Terrorist attacks rarely occur in aviation to this

day and will only decrease with the strict security around

the nation in different airports and airline. With

technology growing each year, the risk of a terrorist attack

will be almost obsolete within the next few decades.

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References

Hasisi, B., & Weisburd, D. (2011). Going beyond Ascribed

Identities: The Importance

of Procedural Justice in Airport Security Screening in

Israel. 45(4), 1-10. Retrieved January 1, 2011, from

Utica College Library.

Hobbs, S. (2012). U.S. AVIATION SECURITY: AN EXAMINATION

INTO AIRPORT

SCREENING PROCEDURES AND USE OF DECEIT DETECTION

TECHNIQUES. 1 0-15. Retrieved January 1, 2012, from Utica

College Library.

Schwartz, Nelson. (2002). Learning from Israel.. Fortune;

1/21/2002, Vol. 145 Issue

2, p94-102

Walker, C. (2010). Air security: Rest of world needs to

learn from El Al. Retrieved

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November 25, 2014, from security-rest-world-needs-

learn-el-al.

Airline passenger security screening new technologies and

implementation issues.

(1996). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Israel's El Al airline to begin Boston route, JetBlue

codeshare. (2014). Retrieved

November 25, 2014.

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