Can airport security move on from 9/11?

Thanks to improvements in biometric and other digital technologies, many new tools now exist to make the airport experience easier while remaining safe. EPA

Those under the age of 30 may remember little, if anything, of a world when airports were relatively hassle-free environments. But as a security incident at a Japanese airport on Saturday showed, reviving the halcyon days of breezy travel still is some way away.

Hundreds of passengers at New Chitose Airport – one of Japan’s busiest – were left stranded as 36 flights were cancelled and more than 200 delayed. The culprit was a missing pair of scissors, lost from a shop near the departure gates. Although flights resumed later that day and the wayward scissors were eventually found, the event was a reminder that however advanced the technology around aeroplane and airport security has become since the attacks of September 11, 2001, society cannot seem to shed its aviation anxiety.

There can be little doubt that 9/11 changed the face of airport security around the world. Two months after the attacks, the US Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act that, among many other measures, required 100 per cent checked baggage screening. Other countries followed suit, eventually introducing tighter restrictions on cabin baggage, as well as liquids and electronics. The vulnerabilities in airport security that the 9/11 attacks exposed so cruelly merited a tough approach. But what about now?

This is how police detect fake passports at Dubai airports

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Thanks to improvements in biometric and other digital technologies, many new tools now exist to make the airport experience easier while remaining safe. But they remain far from ubiquitous. Across much of Europe and North America, intensive manual screening of bags remains the norm. As does a culture of “security theatre”, a term coined 20 years ago by US privacy expert Bruce Schneier to describe measures designed to give the impression of vigilance without delivering much meaningful diligence. Commonly cited examples include the interrogation of elderly women or patting down of young children selected by random screening. Such techniques not only induce much eye-rolling, but also result in long and slow-moving security queues.

The so-called security theatre culture is difficult to lose; few policymakers or airport operators want to be seen to be making things less safe. And there continue to be security threats that cannot be ignored; no official wants to have the guilt or stigma of loosening security procedures only for a breach to happen. But some governments are moving gradually in a new direction. Two years ago, the UK said the country’s major airports would be required to operate advanced scanners that would save time by enabling passengers in the security queue to keep their liquids and laptops in their bags. Implementation has been far from seamless, but the policy direction is clear. Airports in Ireland, Amsterdam and Australia have also rolled out high-tech CT scanners to reduce the number of checks while maintaining security protocols.

The caution on display in Japan was admirable. But more airports and aviation authorities are coming up with innovative, tech-driven ways to keep flyers safe

In the UAE, digitally enhanced security measures have been a feature of the country’s main airports for several years. In June, The National reported how officers at Dubai International Airport used e-readers to catch 366 passengers with fake travel IDs in the first quarter of this year alone. Last month, Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said it was planning to introduce a “biometric smart travel” project to automate passenger registration, enhancing security and significantly cutting processing time. Both airports have struck a balance between establishing rigorous security measures without overly inconveniencing the millions of international travellers that pass through every year.

Certainly, the surfeit of caution on display in Japan over the weekend was admirable. But more and more airports and aviation authorities are coming up with innovative, tech-driven ways to keep flyers safe while creating a more seamless airport experience. If some airlines feel secure enough to reintroduce metal cutlery on their flights, perhaps the time has come to leave some of the more unsophisticated post-9/11 measures behind.