Terrorism and airport securityThe morning of September 11 was like any other. The sun was rising in the east and the day was full of life. People went to work as usual and everyone seemed safe from danger. In American airports: planes transported their passengers to their destination in record time. People went through airport security as usual, going through the metal detector and sending their luggage through the x-ray machines. Security at the airport was normal. The bags were checked for weapons and explosives, as had been done for many years. This seemingly routine day turned out to be far from normal. A group of people belonging to Al-Qaeda had different plans for the people of the United States. On September 11, Al-Qaeda, a terrorist group that has been in the spotlight for some time, hijacked 4 planes and used them as guided missiles to attack the American people and government. These attacks were not directed against military targets or troops, they were aimed at innocent civilians in everyday life. These cowardly attacks are why the United States has devoted more time to national security, particularly airport security (September 2004). Paul Thompson has compiled a comprehensive timeline of events before and after 9/11. Thompson continued: “Jamming fighter jets at the first sign of trouble is a common occurrence. During the year 2000, there were 425 "unknown" pilots who failed to file or diverted [sic] from their flight plans or used the wrong frequency." He went on to say that " before September 11, these stampedes occurred about two or three times a week. After September 11, they increased to three or four times a day” (Thompson, 2002). middle of paper ......hannel_hsd_story.jsp?id=news/com03244.xmlTerrorism (March 16, 2004) Wikipedia Retrieved March 17, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/. TerrorismTyson, J. (February 2, 2004). How It Works. Retrieved March 20, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://travel.howstuffworks.com/airport-security1.htmstyle='font-family. :Geneva'>Thompson, P. (October 29, 2002). Corporate Research Center. Accessed March 21, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp? timeline=complete_911_timeline&timeperiod=0:10am-11:50pm%2011%20Sept%202001< style='font-family: Geneva'>US Department of Homeland Security. (March 16, 2004) Wikipedia. Retrieved March 17, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Homeland_Securitypan>