9/11 Project Honors Human Geo

Quasay Multani and Brenddon Hutton

Honors Human Geography

Mr.Wojewedski

The 9/11 attacks had a tremendous affect on air travels both nationally and internationally.  This one attack on the United States cause two wars (Afghanistan and Iraq), caused security to go up in a reasonable amount in America and in other countries, and it caused a shift in perspective of how Americans see themselves with the rest of the world. When one is asked about 9/11 they often picture the planes crashing into the twin towers but what people forget to see is the aftermath on air travel and the security measures the government will take to ensure a tragic event like that will not ever happen again.

Security has dramatically increased after the 9/11 attacks. Before 9/11 passengers were allowed to bring knives on the airplanes now security will detained someone if they bring something like lighter fluid. To better understand this, a person needs to see the way America viewed itself before the 9/11 attacks.  According to a 2002 review of FAA records the prohibited airspace protecting the White House is violated at least 85 times between the years 1992-2000. Many people ask what was the punishment for those pilots who violated the air space and the answer is all they received was a letter of warning. This obviously states that America’s security was not up to date during the pre 9/11 years.

Now when a plane violates the airspace of the White House all residents in the Washington D.C. area including the president are immediately evacuated and they might even send in fighter jets.  Security scans everything in your possession that you bring to the airport including all files on a laptop. Security has become so high that pilots are allowed to carry small arms with them in the plane. Security was not the only thing that changed after the 9/11 attacks; other things like how to get a Visa has changed and airport policies as well.

Although the Visa policy itself did not change but the way to obtain one were more intensified. As part of a way to enhance travel security protocol certain administrative procedures related to the visa insurance and entry at the U.S Border were implemented. Non participants of the VWP (Visa Waiver Program) were subjected to an additional layer of processing that to those who were part of VWP. However the new security protocol did not discourage immigration from the Non- VWP countries.

The airlines were already in financial trouble during the time of 9/11 due to the recession and the attacks seriously caused a financial problem for the industry. The government quickly responded giving them an aid package of 15 billion (5 billion in short term and 10 in billion loan guarantees). September 11, 2001 continues to have a strong influence on the air travel industry. Some airlines did not survive the financial wreckage immediately after 9/11 - most laid off workers.

Two major airlines, US Airways and United, filed for bankruptcy but the 9/11 attacks were only a part of their decline. US Airways, which had emerged from bankruptcy, filed again in 2004. The 15 billion dollar aid package as mentioned earlier in the report only had limited affects on the airlines. 

The 9/11 attacks also affected the air industry by affecting the tourists that come to America every year. However, the 9/11 attacks reverberated all around the world but the global level affects it had on tourism and the United States were thought to be minor.

The 9/11 attacks also indirectly created the no fly list in America. The no fly list is a list of names of people the government do not want on the airplanes. Many people like the ACLU believe the no fly lists are unconstitutional because it treats someone guilty without a trial and it also deprives them of their freedoms without due process. The government keeps the names of the no fly list very confidential so one can only assume that they are on the list.  

Picture taken from public domain, WikiMedia

The ACLU were so outraged by the idea of having a list of that type they filed a law suit against the TSA.  Green v. TSA was brought on behalf of "false positive" passengers who had no method of resolving problems even after they had been cleared for flight. The result of this case was that congress told the TSA to reorganize the system of the list so that no more false positives will occur.

 Bibliography: 

"Frequently Asked Questions About the "No Fly List"" American Civil Liberties Union. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. <http://www.aclu.org/national-security/frequently-asked-questions-about-no-fly-list>.

"ACLU Challenges Government No Fly List." American Civil Liberties Union. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. <http://www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-challenges-government-no-fly-list-0>.

"Air Traffic - NextGen Briefing." FAA: Home. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. <http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/briefing/>.

2013, By. "Travel Facts and Statistics | U.S. Travel Association." U.S. Travel Association. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. <http://www.ustravel.org/news/press-kit/travel-facts-and-statistics>.

H.R. Rep. No. RL31617. Print.The Economic Effects of 9/11: A Retrospective Assessment

America. DHS. Department of Homeland Security | Preserving Our Freedoms, Protecting America. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. <http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ni_911_wp.pdf>