‘SECURITY THEATER’

Despite the trauma that led to its creation, and the intense desire to avoid another 9/11, the TS itself has frequently been the subject of qu tio about its methods, ideas and ffectiveness.

Flight attendants and air ma hals were outraged when the agenc proposed in 2013 to let passengers arry folding pocketkni s and other longbanned it ms on planes again. The agenc dropped the idea. And after another outcry, the TS removed full-bod scanners that produced realistic-lookin imag that some travelers compared to virt l strip searches. They were replaced by other machines that a ed fewer privac and health objections. down of travelers are a constant complaint.

In 2015, a published repor said TS cers failed 95 of the time to detect weapons or expl ive material

arried by undercover inspectors. Members of Congr s who received a classi ed brie ng aised their concer to Pekoske, with one lawmaker saying that TS “is broken badl .” Critics, includin fo mer TS

have derided the agenc as s “securit th ter” that gives a false impression of safeguarding the traveling public. Pekoske dismisses that notion by pointin to the huge number of guns seized at airport checkpoints — more than 3,200 last t year, 83 f them aded — in tea f making it onto planes.

Pekoske also ticked ff other TS tasks, includin vetting passengers, screenin checked bags with 3D technology, inspecting argo and putting federal air marshals on ights.

“There is an awful lot there that people don’ see,” Pekoske says. “Rest assured: This is not securit theater. It’s l security.”

Many independent experts agree with Pekoske’s assessment, though the suall see ar s where the TS must improve.

“TSA is an ffective deterrent against most at acks,” ays Jeffre Price, who teaches aviation security at Metropolitan State Universit of Den r and has co-authored books on the subject. “If it’s security theater, like some cr tics say, it’s prett ood securit theater because since 9/11 e haven’ had a succ sful attack against aviation.”

This summer, an av age of nearly 2 million people per da have owed through TS checkpoints. On weekends and holidays the an be teeming with stressed-out travelers. During the middle of the week, even at big airports like DF the are less crowded; the hum ather than roar. Most travelers accept an inconvenience as the price of securit in an uncertain wo d.

Travel “is getting harder and harder, and I don’t think it’s just my age,” said Paula athings, who taught school in Arkansas for man tn years and s iting for a ight to Qatar and then another to Kenya, where she will spend the next seve al months teaching. She blames the dif

culty of travel on the pandemic, not the securit ap ratus.

“The are there for my security. The aren’ there to hassle me,” Gathings said of TS screeners and airpor police. “Every time somebod asks me to do something, I an see the reason for it. Maybe it’s the schoolteacher in me.”