Out of line: How to better protect airports

by Henry H. Willis and Michael A. Brown

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The March 22 bombing of Brussels Airport was another reminder that the
threat to aviation has not waned. Public areas where there are large
quantities of unchecked luggage around lots of people have proven to be
vulnerable targets of terrorism. When many people gather, or stand in line,
they become an attractive target for a terrorist attack. Airports as a result
have repeatedly fallen within the sights of terrorists targeting.
In a 2004 study, RAND presented near-term options for improving security
at Los Angeles International Airport based upon one fact that consistently
emerged from the analysis: it is not the size of the bomb that matters most;
it is where it is detonated. All of the most dangerous terrorist attacks involve
placement of a bomb in close proximity to a vulnerable crowd of people. The
authors proposed two valid ways to reduce this vulnerability: Move the
possible bomb detonation away from the people or move the people away
from the possible bomb detonation. The study also identified an easy way to
make people a less attractive target improve ticketing and security
operations so that crowds of people aren't waiting in line.
This is not easy to assess. Annual passenger enplanements change (PDF)
regularly against a constant TSA screening workforce. And GAO has reported
that policy for collecting wait time data has changed (PDF), and collection
measures are not consistent across airports. Nonetheless, TSA and air
carriers have made efforts to address longer lines. Air carriers have
installed self-service kiosks to enable passengers to print their boarding
passes, tag their checked bags and collect baggage claim receipts before
requiring contact with an individual. The TSA Pre-Check system has provided
a means to expedite passenger throughput at more than 160 domestic
airports.
Reducing the size of the lines and speeding people into the secure area of
the airport helps security officials separate cleared travelers from uncleared
travelers. By quickly decluttering crowded areas, security can more easily
detect suspicious activity.

The threat of terrorism at airports is persistent and ever-evolving. Bombers

have continued to identify different targets of opportunity within the airport
environment as seen most recently in Brussels, but also
in Karachi, Beijing, Moscow and Madrid over the past decade. Thus, security
measures must also adapt in step to protect the aviation system and reduce
the likelihood of a high-consequence event.
For example, two emerging technologies smart vehicles and smart
infrastructure may offer innovative solutions to introduce some useful
unpredictability that would improve security by moving high volumes of
people and traffic out of line.
A common challenge at the airport has long been knowing when and where
to pick up an arriving passenger. Ride-sharing services like Uber, Lyft, Juno
and Chariot for Women offer platforms that bridge contact between smart
vehicles and smart travelers prior to a curbside introduction. These new
applications can take pressure off the transaction by mapping a real-time
touchpoint that offer possibilities to eliminate queues and wait times.
Innovative infrastructure, communications and vehicle technologies have
also offered opportunities to smooth the flow of vehicles, which could be
improved at many airports. Vehicle congestion is a frequent problem due to
the numerous commercial shuttle buses that circle airport grounds and seek
airport employees, long-term parking patrons, as well as hotel and rental car
customers. Navigation applications like Waze may be able to offer drivers
efficiency and and greater security by informing them of crowded traffic
lanes to avoid, wait times and consumer demand, in real-time. Smart
infrastructure can detect when congestion is occurring. Connected vehicles
can use this information to help reroute traffic around congested areas or
streamline the flow through congestion. In the future, these innovations may
lessen the hassle of getting to and leaving airports.
Each of these technologies can be used to help reduce consequences by
ensuring there is less standing around at the airport. A moving target is hard
to hit and such action presents the opportunity to improve aviation
security, and move people out of traditional lines and away from a possible
detonation location.
In the continued cat-and-mouse game of terrorism security, officials are
challenged to stay one step ahead of terrorists. Fortunately, new
technologies may present opportunities to get travelers out of line at airports
and keep them safe.

Henry Willis is director of the Homeland Security and Defense Center at the
nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and a professor at the Pardee
RAND Graduate School. He is the author of dozens of publications, book
chapters and op-ed pieces and has testified before Congress as an expert on
applying risk analysis to homeland security policy. Michael A. Brown is the
Department of Homeland Security Fellow at RAND. He has master's degrees
in security studies from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at
the Naval Postgraduate School and in public administration from Rutgers
University-Newark.
This commentary originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report on May
2, 2016.