Topline
Two aviation experts have said they wouldn’t be surprised if more changes are made to Transportation Security Administration policies under Trump after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday she’s questioning “everything TSA does” and may soon change the longheld rule that allows only liquids measuring 3.4 ounces or smaller to be carried through security.
TSA checkpoint security screening information in Miami.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Key Facts
Homeland Security officials have said they are reviewing all of TSA’s current rules and “exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture,” which Matthew Borie, chief intelligence officer at Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm, told Forbes could lead to more policy changes around personal electronics and documentation.
Noem said changing the liquids rule “may be the next big announcement” but gave no further details on what the changes could be or when they’d be implemented, and the vague suggestion comes less than two weeks after TSA confirmed it would eliminate its 19-year policy that required any passengers without pre-approval to remove their shoes and send them through an x-ray machine.
Standard security procedures currently allow passengers to have liquids and gels in amounts less than 3.4 ounces in their carry-on luggage, but they must be placed in a clear zippered bag and removed at the security checkpoint for separate scanning.
The increasing installation of upgraded CT (computed tomography) machines at airport security checkpoints to scan carry-on baggage, however, is making it less necessary for liquids to be removed from bags, Borie said.
He predicted that a change to the liquid policy wouldn’t affect the amount that could be carried, but would end the need to remove them at security, and said the change would make the policy reflect technological upgrades that have largely already been made.
He said the same is true of the shoe rules—that installation of full body scanners have made it unnecessary for shoes to be scanned separately—and that he thinks the same type of rule change could be extended to personal electronic devices because upgraded CT machines also make their removal from bags redundant.
In addition, Borie said he thinks more changes are coming to how documents are handled at airports, and that passengers should expect to see more biometric scanners in the near future and other new uses of technology in the long run, including blockchain digital passports.
Sheldon Jacobson, an aviation security expert and University of Illinois engineering professor, told Forbes he doesn’t doubt more changes are on the way and he believes Noem’s vision is “sound,” but that she’ll need to enhance some measures, like facial recognition, to make up for the axed policies and ensure public confidence in air safety.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here: joinsubtext.com/forbes.
Crucial Quote
“Simply put, air system security should not be determined by popular opinion or polls, but by sound analysis and research,” Jacobson told Forbes.
What To Watch For
How changes to security lines impact enrollment in TSA Pre-Check. Right now, the more than 20 million people who have been pre-screened and cleared by DHS are allowed to bypass some security measures—like leaving electronics and liquids in their bags and keeping shoes on. If those policies become the norm, Keith Jeffries, vice president of K2 Security Screening Group and a former TSA employee, said he thinks that could lead to a drop in enrollment and, in turn, could hinder security efforts. “Those who have been cleared for TSA Pre-Check are ‘trusted travelers,’ and a drop in enrollment would degrade that trusted traveler population and, perhaps, reduce safety,” Jeffries said. “The more we know about you, the better. We need you to be who you say you are, so we can get you the right type of screening.”
Chief Critic
Peter DiDomenica, who helped draft TSA’s “shoes off” policy, said he agrees it’s no longer necessary for every passenger to remove their shoes, but he thinks it should still be a resource in TSA’s tool box. “I don’t agree with the total elimination of it,” he told Fox 25, a local Boston news station. “Continue to x-ray shoes on a very limited basis, even just 1% of the time. Randomly select people and let the bad guys… feel there’s a possibility they could get caught.”
Why Does Tsa Only Allow 3 Ounces Of Liquids In Carry-On Bags?
In 2006, authorities foiled a plot to use liquid explosives smuggled aboard carry-on luggage to blow up planes. The plan involved carrying homemade chemical cocktails aboard planes in sports drink bottles and terrorists planned to take their liquid bombs on U.S. and Canada-bound flights from London, according to the BBC.
Why Did Tsa Require Passengers To Remove Their Shoes At The Airport?
A man named Richard Reid, who has since earned the name “shoe bomber,” tried to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001 with homemade bombs he’d hidden in his shoes, Once on board, Reid failed to light the fuse before crew members and passengers noticed and restrained him. The plane diverted to Logan International Airport in Boston and DiDomenica, then the director of aviation security in Boston, said he immediately wrote a policy for screening shoes at Logan, which ultimately shaped TSA’s policy. If Reid had succeeded, the FBI said his bomb would have blown a hole in the plane’s fuselage and caused it to crash. TSA eliminated the shoe rule last week.
Does Real Id Enhance Security?
The new shoe policy and potential change to the liquid rule comes as TSA implements a new rule requiring all passengers to carry a “REAL ID” or other approved documentation (like a passport), and no longer allows people to fly with standard drivers licenses as their identification. People must meet enhanced federal security standards to be issued a REAL ID, including providing proof of identity documents and proof of residency. The REAL ID Act was signed into law 20 years ago and originally scheduled for implementation in 2008 before being repeatedly delayed. Enforcement of the REAL ID requirements finally began in May, and travelers without one are subject to extra screening at airports.