John F. Kennedy International Airport

Abstract

Aviation has been the preferred mode of transportation since its inception almost a century ago, after Orville and Wilbur Wright manage to invent the first flying machine, improvements and upgrades shaped the current aviation environment. Aviation brought convenience and comfort to travellers around the world. On the other hand, it was the gateway that led to the deadliest terror attack in human history, 9/11 attacks. Therefore, it is crucial to take a comprehensive approach to evaluating the security framework based on their internal and external factors to prevent similar accidents from happening. This paper discusses about the history and activities of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), identifies factors for its threat analysis, and several recommendations and provisions that LAX has or should take upon to improve its security. Lastly, this paper concludes with the overall summary and recommendations that LAX should implement.

Introduction

Airport security was not taken with the seriousness that is required prior to the year 1970 since there is a statistic that the percentage of passengers who were scanned was 0.5% (Brendan, 2013). The rates of the hijacking were quite alarming as a result. 40 was the number of trails of hijacking that took place in 1969 in the United States alone. However, the whole program took a different direction after the attack which took place on September 11.

4 passenger airliners were hijacked thus leading to injuries and deaths exceeding 6,000 and 2, 996 respectively in that September 11 attack (Sweet, 2008). The United States aviation sector was financially destroyed by the attack. An example can be seen with Northwest Airlines which in the first half of 2002 it ended up registering a loss of $264 million.

The huge damage posed to the industry by the September 11 attack necessitated the introduction of more tough security measures in airports. Airport security is aimed at passenger, staff and plane protection from whichever kind of threat and/or crime such as terrorism. Furthermore, with the increased reliance on technology on different operations of an airport, it is crucial to focus on the aspect of cyber terrorism and enhance cyber security.

History and Design of LAX

Being a portion of economic blueprints in South California, LAX is among the airports that are busy globally. It ranks sixth in that category. Los Angeles International Airport is the body that operates Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It is found in South Carolina. It ranks 3rd among the airports that are engaged in the United States.

1,386 ha of land in the portion occupied by the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). 59.8 million Passengers were served in the year 2008. In the same year, 1.8 mt of cargo were also handled (Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX), CA - Airport Technology, 2018). It also ranks 13th largest airport as far as cargo handling is concerned. Los Angeles International Airport is the most engaged Origin and Destination airport in the world. The amount contributed to the US economy by the airport yearly is nearly $61 billion.

The Los Angeles International Airport site is also referred to as Mines Field. It commenced its activities on October 1st, 1928. The World War II military flights were conducted on this site. December 1946 is the time at which the commercial airline service commenced at the airport. The Los Angeles International Airport terminal complex and a 172 ft. the control tower was constructed in 1961.

Domestic, international and a two-level roadway were built in the airport by 1980s. In April of 1996, a 277ft FAA control tower having modernized tools had started its activities.

Since the airport is in an urban area, any intents to increase it largely will always face great opposition. A master plan was constructed in 1994 and has since undergone modifications years after. The first step involved finding out the requirements, the second one was bringing forward the alternative options. The third phase began in 1997 and it was about analysing the impact to be made on the environment where the public’s view was sorted for in 1999 to 2003. This public consultation has been ongoing since the agreement has been made on how exactly the airport must be expanded. It is believed that the amendments of the Los Angeles International Airport began in March 2007. Even though most of the requirements had been decided on, there were some that were still not really clear. There are researches that foresee the airport will be serving about 157 million passengers and 8.9 million tons of freight yearly starting from 2020.

Plans of expansion. The 3 planning phases of LAX expansion came up with 4 alternatives to cater for the future levels of demand. The choices B, A and C aimed at expanding the airport’s western portion. In proposals, there were also some plans of adding a terminal, an automated people mover (APM) systems that join the main terminal section, new runways, and a public space Tom Bradley International Terminal. Plan D was adopted as the best plan in 2005 for expanding LAX and an estimation of $11 billion was laid out as the reconfiguration cost. LAWA, however, stopped D plan following a great opposition from the neighbouring residents.

Terminals. The airport has 9 passenger terminals. There are also 128 U shaped gates. There is a shuttle bus that serves the terminals. Terminals 4,5,6,7, 8, and the TBIT are linked. Terminals 5, 4 and 6 are linked by an underground tunnel while Terminals 6, 7, and 8 are co-joined by above-ground walkways. There are extra airside shuttle buses that Terminals 2, 3, 4, 6, American Eagle remote terminal and Tom Bradley International Terminal. No other terminal relates to a physical airside. Furthermore, there are 190,000 m2 cargo facilities in Loa Angeles International Airport. There is also a heliport whose operation is by Bravo aviation (Los Angeles International Airport, 2018).

LAX diagram showing runways and terminal

Airport Activities

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is owned wholly by the Los Angeles World Airport (LAWA) and their security services is fully funded by LAWA.

LAX is ranked as the fifth busiest airport in the United States, the largest destination airport in the United States, serving up to 70 million people annually (Stevens et. al. 2006). LAX serves a numerous number of airlines which include Aeroflot, Air Canada, Air France, Alitia, Boutiques Airlines, Emirates, Delta Airline, and China Cargo Airlines among many others that serve various destinations all over the world. LAX records millions of passengers daily, a number which has been escalating in recent years. This is the reason as to why LAX is being ranked among the busiest airports in the world.

This argument can be backed up by data such as that of May 2017 in which the passenger traffic of this airport rose by 5.6 percent despite the challenges that U.S airports have been going through with. Statistics taken from (LAWA, 2018) shows that the 10-Year summary of passengers from 2008-2017 grew almost 40% from 60 million annual passengers to a total of 85 million in 2018. (Fine, 2017).

Furthermore, it is expected that LAX would be undergoing a series of upgrades and modernization through a $14 billion Capital Improvement Program projected to last through 2023. The main goal of this project is to improve current facilities at the respective terminals, and in terms of security, the In-Line Baggage Handling and Screening System Program that is going to be installed at every terminal, strives to improve and automate the security screening of checked baggage at all LAX terminals providing customers with a safer and a faster travel time (LAWA, 2018).

In respect to the massive overhaul and renovations of LAX, there would be an influx of passengers in the coming years, coupled with the rising demand of air transportation, LAX would need a sufficiently large scaled security plan to ensure the safety and convenience of the human traffic.

Threat Analysis

Activities such as aircraft landing, taking-off, and handling of the ground all take place in airports. Generally, these activities will consume small amounts of time but then it is statistically proven that a bigger portion of accidents (32%) occur during such activities. This is a value that can escalate to 53% when the initial climb and final approach phases are considered (Boeing Commercial Airplane, 2011). Threats posed in such stages of flight will not only affect the flight crew and passengers but also a bigger portion of residents in the adjacent vicinity will suffer from their lives and injuries. Following the 9/11 incident, new strategies have been put forward to curb any form of threats and harmful activities as far as airport security is concerned.

Cyber threat. The advancement of technology allowed efficient air traffic control management, communication management, data storage, and even security measures. Massive amounts of data could be accessed anytime, anywhere. Security cameras and alarms could all be controlled by a centralized digital server. This convenience and advancement are a double-edged sword – terror groups or individuals can hack the systems and use it for their motives. For instance, terror groups could control aircraft as they wish if they manage to hack into air traffic controller systems, and this would mean deaths of many innocent civilians as terror groups could collide aircraft just by giving the wrong command. Cyber threat is the number one issue for security at airports.

Insider threat. One of the most dangerous threats that must be tamed out in the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is what is known as the “insider threat”. This threat is the one that arises for the airport employees. As a result, the employees must be regularly screened and scrutinized for any kind of past criminal involvement. The Los Angeles Police Chief David Maggard Jr was once heard saying that each likelihood of an event occurring is deeply analysed. Furthermore, they collect information from individuals who have been in one way or the other involved in the past dreadful events or threats. This information is useful as it can be used to create more effective strategies to be applied in this airport (Zamost and Brennan, 2018).

Insider threat might be the toughest to tackle, since it is difficult to quantify the amount of trust each employee have with each other. This vulnerability would be heavily exploited by terror groups as they could plant spies or insiders in the hierarchy and eventually gain important information that could be used to their benefits. An example would be the arrest of Denver International Airport Shuttle Driver Najibullah Zazi in 2009, who upon arrest, was found with homemade explosives that he was planning to detonate in the New York subway system on the eight anniversaries of the 9/11 incident. After investigation, Zazi was found to have received training from Al Qaeda. This might not have happened, but the explosives could easily be planted in Denver International Airport, where Zazi worked at (Wilson, 2009).

The airport has also adopted a policy known as “zero tolerance” in which there is randomization in a selection of which employee is to be searched at any given time. Arrests are usually made in cases of any suspiciousness found among the employees. There are also cameras fitted all around the airport for easy monitorization of the daily activities at the airport.

History of incidents. The most notable incident in the recent decade would be the 2013 LAX shooting by lone gunman, Paul Anthony Ciancia, where he entered Terminal 3 of LAX, and proceeded to open fire at the TSA checkpoints and into the airside area of the terminal. Three victims were injured by Ciancia’s gunfire, two of which are TSA officers that engaged in a firefight with Ciancia, and one TSA officer was shot dead on the spot (Simpson, 2013). Following this shooting, Los Angeles International Airport fully employed intelligence analysists, becoming the first airport to do so in the year 2014 (Zamost and Brennan, 2018). Having learned from experience, they never wanted such an occurrence to repeat itself.

Next, the 2013 dry ice explosion incident involving a baggage handler, Dicarlo Bennett. Bennett claimed that the dry ice explosions were “a prank” and although it did not cause any injuries, it was enough to shut down the operations of a terminal. After investigations, it was found that Bennett does not have any political agenda or motives and it might genuinely be “for fun”. This incident shows how easy it is for insiders, or any employees to exploit the vulnerability or take advantage of the vulnerabilities in the security of the airport (Martinez & Vercammen, 2013).

Similarly, there are plans to increase the number of cameras all over the facility. There also exists a policy known as Operation Safe Entry in which there is a random checking of the vehicles coming in by the police, No one is spared during such screening and no one is permitted entry at the expense of being checked. Information obtained from LAX officials say that $200 million is spent on security yearly.

The following are some of the other threats that have been put under consideration in LAX all of which, mainly cover terror attacks.

1. Insider-planted bomb: an employee on the inside can place a bomb inside a big passenger’s aircraft and thus bombing it when in motion. This can lead to hundreds of passenger deaths.

2. Cargo Bomb: the bomb is put in a cargo finds itself to a passenger plane.

3. Large Truck Bomb: a heavy bomb placed in a hidden truck. Possess risk to both departure and arrival terminal levels.

4. Luggage Bomb: found in a luggage. Mainly targets the crowded screening line. Suicide killers are the main propagators of such bombs.

5. Public Area Attack: mainly caused by an armed gang of terrorist and leave behind many deaths prior to being contained.

6. Tower/ Utility Plant Bombing: this involves a bomb large enough to destroy a large part of the airport. The bomb usually weighs above a thousand pounds in terms of explosives.

7. Mortar attack: this can lead to the delaying of the airport activities for several days. Fewer people are victimized by this attack. It is also rare for the Mortar to attack a plane that is loaded.

Security Provisions and Improvements

Protection of national infrastructure such as historical landmarks, political buildings, and airports is a challenging task for national agencies due to the sheer size of the location. LAX airport, with a rising passenger traffic, must make continuous improvements to their security measures to keep safety standards to the highest.

Proper traffic flow control. This is to reduce the risks brought out by the suicide bombers and luggage bombs. Crowd reduction on the sidewalks and terminal will go a long way in minimizing the potential consequences. Such measures can be implemented by the addition of check-ins, skycaps, and Transportation Security Administration expertise and increase the speed at which check-ins are done.

Baggage screening. Both the checked luggage, hand luggage, and cargos must be screened. This screening takes place in the central search zone- a single area for screening passengers and bags. The figure below shows the central search zone layout.

Solutions.

Tools used for baggage screening include:

· X-ray: objected image is depicted by the reflection of x-rays. Both non-metallic and metallic objects can be detected. Various improvements such as portable digital x-ray, automated x-ray scanner, and x-ray backscatter have been made.

X-ray baggage scanner DetectorAll, 2016

· Explosive Detection Systems: automatically detects explosives at a faster rate. Computerized tomography is the technique utilized here. Liquid explosives are the ones detected here. 3D explosive is the improvement here.

Analogic, 2016

· Threat Image Detection: software that identifies the image of threats. Improves the effectiveness of screeners. Updates should be continuously made to improve its performance.

Threat Image Projection (Astrophysics, 2013)

· Trace: identifies explosives that are in vapor or chemical form.

Passenger screening. This is an important step in the security procedure to ensure that weapons or explosives are not brought up to the aircraft.

Solutions.

· Metal Detectors: Metal detectors make use of electromagnetism technology to detect metals hidden. The software can be developed to increase their efficiency.

DigitalMetal detector, 2016

ECVV, 2016

· Millimetre wave imaging: This device uses short waves to detect malicious items on the human body. Mostly guns and knives are detected. Effective when the detected item is highlighted on a screen to show danger.

Radiation Safety Institute Canada, 2016

Cyber threat solutions. On February 2013, former President Obama issued an executive order that tasked the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with the responsibility of establishing a voluntary "cybersecurity framework" which is comprised of a variety of best practices by private-sector companies that could be adopted by airports to enhance critical cyber infrastructure. The NIST framework released the following year provides a procedure to map cybersecurity best practices ways to eliminate and mitigate cyber risks. The three major steps would be to outline the framework core, implementation, and finally, profile. For instance, the mapping stage of the framework core allows airports to understand the degree of risk management needed to match industry standards as per NIST guidelines. Additionally, the NIST allows organizations to implement extra preventive measures as per their own risk exposure (Woods et al. 2017).

Insider threat solutions. (Wallace & Loffi, 2014) mentioned 3 major solutions to the threat of insiders. Firstly, employees check and screening. Prior employment, it is the employer’s responsibility to do a thorough check on the employee’s background, criminal record, to determine the adequate clearance level for the employee. Additionally, subsequent checks must be done annually or semi annual to ensure records are clean. Secondly, an establishment of a safety culture should be rooted in the foundation of the organization. Employees should be aware of the safety culture, which would bring out awareness of any suspicious activities occurring in the workplace. The culture of reporting anonymously must also be encouraged, and employees would not be punished for reporting something that is wrong or suspicious. Lastly, continuous monitoring and observation of the current system. Feedbacks and suggestions must be taken into consideration by the security management, this would allow improvements on the system (Wallace & Loffi, 2014).

Assistant for randomized monitoring over routes (ARMOR). (Pita et al. 2009) has also mentioned the implementation of the ARMOR system in LAX since August 2007. The main purpose of the ARMOR system is to prevent adversaries from exploiting patterns in selective patrolling and monitoring; for instance, attacks can be coordinated and planned according to existing patrols timing and route. The system works by randomization of mixed security strategies by the airport, allowing the user to cast different weightage with different actions and allow the algorithm to run and give out the most appropriate and efficient solution or route. This system serves as a deterrent for both terror groups and insiders, since checkpoints and roadways are always randomized.

Disaster Management

Airport environments are extremely dynamic and uncertain, ranging from recurrent and increasingly worse natural disasters, to small scale or medium scale terror threats, it is extremely important for LAX to have a reliable and efficient disaster management framework. A well-rounded framework would capture different risks and threats faced by the airport and give the most accurate and effective solution to the problem. The most crucial aspect of an efficient disaster management is timely response, coupled with speedy communications between multiple agents such as the fire department, the police, and respective agents, it is vital for agents to work together to ensure damages are kept to a minimum (Jain et al. 2012).

Coordination. Efficient task allocation is a critical factor in a successful disaster management. Agents must be informed of different threats faced by LAX, and the respective parties that would coordinate all the different agencies together so that efforts are not duplicated, and all resources are used timely and efficiently. All of which could be done through simulation such as the ESCAPES system. This system focuses on pedestrians’ behaviour in disaster scenarios by running a simulation of many different types of scenarios during a disaster (Tsai et al. 2011). Agents could use this system to train on their coordination between other agents which would allow them to run more efficiently during times of need

Conclusion

In conclusion, LAX has been constantly tackling the issue with security, as evident from the extra budget dedicated from their Capital Improvement Program, to ensure terminals are equipped with newer scanning systems. However, it is crucial for LAX to consider the aspect of cyber threats. Digitalization has enabled terror groups to operate behind the screen of a computer, giving them the potential to do great harm, such as giving aircraft misguided directions to land and causing many innocent deaths. Next, insider threats should be taken into consideration as part of the security budget, and the upmost importance should be to create a culture of awareness and safety, coupled with refresher trainings on detecting suspicious activities, would bring insider threats down to a minimum. Finally, LAX must implement continuous monitoring and improvements to their system through constant employees and customer feedbacks. This would allow LAX to stay competitive in the growing aviation industry.

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