Up in the Air

The aviation industry faces critical airspace issues.

- By Karin Leperi

All airplane flights begin on the ground. An airport is the starting point, but airspace issues continue to expand from the terrestrial to the aerial. Altitude is no barrier when countries claim sovereignty from the Earth to beyond the stratosphere.

Airport control relies on readily available methods, from the mundane (like fences and doors with alarms) to the invisible (surveillance cameras and motion detectors). Security methods continue to evolve, but most experts agree the best deterrence takes place before a would-be miscreant ever gets to the terminal. Screening passengers (not to mention crew and airport staff ) for contraband is routine if overrated. We all know of mistakes by Transportation Security Administration personnel who’ve let potential hazards pass by unnoticed — and nothing bad has happened.

“Security is both a feeling and a reality, and the two are different things. People can feel secure when they’re actually not, and they can be secure even when they believe otherwise,” noted Bruce Schneier, a self-described public-interest technologist who works at the “intersection of security, technology, and people.”

He pointed out, “Airport security is the last line of defense, and it’s not a very good one. What works is investigation and intelligence: security that works regardless of the terrorist tactic or target.”