Homeland Security Report: 25,000 airport security breaches since 2001
The Department of Homeland Security issued a report on July 13, 2011, to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Oversight and Government Reform indicating there have been more than 25,000 security breaches at U.S. airports since November 2001. That averages to about seven breaches a day over the past ten years.
In an interview with CNN, former Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation and aviation lawyer Mary Schiavo said, with 1.5 million passengers flying every day, at 500 airports that is less than one percent of travelers, which is a vast improvement since 2001.
"That's much better than before when the airlines were doing security; we had hundreds per day, if not thousands. No one was really keeping track. And they probably missed 30 to 100 percent of the test items the FAA took through the airport. So it's better than it was, but it's still troubling because we are spending a lot more on security"
Schiavo said that the new report also indicates an alarming 2,600 incidents of individuals passing through airport security without being properly screened. She stated, however, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is doing a far better job with deterrence and confining individuals who attempt to take prohibited items through checkpoints.
Read about Motley Rice's aviation lawyers and how they work to protect passenger rights and fight on behalf of victims' family members and injured crash survivors.