The long lines and bulging trash cans at U.S. airports due to increased security after a suspected terror plot was uncovered Thursday had some aviation experts questioning the focus of America's air passenger screening system.Read the rest of the article here: Terror plot spotlights passenger screening system - CNN.com
"Standing there looking to make sure no one has a tube of toothpaste is patently ridiculous, because now we're looking for objects again -- we're not looking for threats" said Michael Boyd, president of the Boyd Group, an aviation consulting firm in Evergreen, Colorado.
British police overnight arrested 24 people suspected of plotting to blow up as many as 10 jetliners bound for the United States. It is believed the suspects planned to mix a sports drink with a gel to make an explosive that might have been triggered by an MP3 player or a cell phone.
Liquids and gels of any kind were subsequently banned from carry-on luggage in the United States and Britain.
Boyd sees the U.S. Transportation Security Administration's ban as a knee-jerk reaction that leaves Americans no safer than they were before the 9/11 attacks.
"Remember Richard Reid, the guy who tried to light up his shoe on the airplane? After that we had to take off our shoes. Imagine what would have happened if he had hid that bomb in his pants," Boyd said.
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