According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, critical infrastructure and key resources are the backbone of our nation’s economy, security, and health. One key component of critical infrastructure is the security of our nation’s airports from mass casualty incidents such as an active shooter scenario. With over 450 commercial airports, in addition to the 19,000 airports, heliports, and landing strips, represented by local, state, and federal authorities, protection of these soft targets from a mass casualty incident remains a wicked-complex problem. Particularly challenging, from a security perspective, are the areas within proximity of ticketing areas and curbside drop-offs.
A conglomerate of layered security encloses these facilities, with the outermost perimeter of security comprised of local, state, and airport authority law enforcement agencies. Those entities overlap with the federal core security apparatus, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), whose mandate is to protect the nation’s transportation system to facilitate the free movement of people and commerce.
49 CFR 1542 states that every airport is required to have an airport security plan (ASP). However, while the security of the airport is reliant on the TSA, as well as local and state law enforcement, coordination is spotty between these entities when it pertains to addressing a mass casualty incident with multiple jurisdictional boundaries and impacts. Additionally, coordination levels vary greatly from airport to airport and are dependent on local political dynamics and existing relationships. Passenger and cargo throughput are widely accepted as performance metrics in the transportation sector. This is important to recognize as should a multi-location mass casualty incident occur, the airports would likely close immediately and for an undetermined amount of time.
A worst-case scenario for the transportation sector would be multiple, coinciding mass casualty incidents at several airports perpetrated by a terrorist organization. As observed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, such an event would assuredly shutdown the airports, effectively ceasing the flow of commerce throughout this segment of the transportation sector infrastructure.
Read the Remainder at Medium
1 thought on “Holiday Travel Tips: Concerns over Active Shooter Threats at Airports”