Airport Security: Time for a New Model

This paper argues for three basic changes in the model of airport security that have been employed in the United States since the passage of the Air Transportation Security Act (ATSA) legislation in 2001. The changes are to: (1) remove the Transportation Safety Administration's (TSA’s) conflict of interest by making it the policy-maker and regulator, but not the provider, of airport screening; (2) desolve screening responsibility to the airport level, under the supervision of the TSA’s Federal Security Director in each case; and (3) shift the paradigm from an equal-risk model to a genuinely risk-based model of airport security. These changes would improve airport security in many ways. They would target more of the available resources (both people and equipment) toward those passengers who pose relatively greater risk of harm, thereby getting more bang for the buck. By making all on-airport security functions the responsibility of the airport, this approach would lead to a more integrated approach, with the Federal Security Director (FSD) supervising everything.