Homeland Security Act of 2002 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Homeland Security Act of 2002 - Term Paper Example After discussing the security provisions, the impact of these provisions on airline revenue, profitability and reputation are also discussed. In the end the paper discusses the impact of the provision to cap airline liability in the case of a terrorist attack. It also explains the insurance provided by FAA in the face of high premium charges of private insurers after September 11 attacks Homeland Security Act of 2002 Introduction The Homeland Security Act of 2002 was passed by the US congress in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in order to prevent further terrorist attacks on US soil. This act has created the Department of Homeland Security which has been given wide ranging powers in order to prevent terrorist strikes on US soil. The formation of this department has been termed as the largest re-organization of the federal government since the creation of Department of Defense. In the 9/11 attacks, airline security was found wanting. It was due to lax security at the airport s that terrorists were able hijack planes and ram them into the twin towers. Because of this, airline security is an integral part of the Homeland security act. After 9/11, the Aviation and Transport Security Act (ATSA) was enacted which established the Transport Security administration. Initially, the TSA worked under the Department of Transportation but with the passage of Homeland Security Act, TSA was moved to the Department of Homeland Security from 2003 (Blalock & Kadiyali, 2007). Changes in security due to Homeland Security Act TSA introduced various changes in security measures under the Homeland security act 2002. Some of the major changes introduced have been listed below. No Fly List and Identification Requirement All adult passengers are now required to show a proof if identification before they are allowed to board a plane. Apart from this, TSA also compares the passengers against a No-fly list. Those whose names appear on the no-fly list are not allowed to board. This includes the names of around 21000 people. In addition to this TSA also has a list of Selectees, passengers who are to be screened thoroughly before being allowed to board a flight (Mueller, 2004). Passenger Screening Screening of passengers before boarding flight was initially done by private security screeners. In order to improve efficiency, TSA took over the screening of passenger’s at all commercial airports from November 2002. They increased the compensation of screeners in order to reduce turnover and also increased the amount of training provided to the screeners in order to make them more efficient. Baggage Screening Prior to 9/11 attacks, only 5% of the checked in baggage was screened. TSA mandated compulsory screening of all check in baggage from 2002. They were also asked to positively match the bag checked to a passenger on board the flight. Airlines were free to adopt any of the four methods in order to screen the baggage – Explosion Detection system, Exp losion trace detection machines, bomb-sniffing dogs or manual search of the bags.