How Has Travel in the U.S. Changed Since the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks?

Long gone are the days when an airline passenger is able to go straight to the gate and catch their flight. As you all know, the way we think about travel has been profoundly changed by the events of September 11 and their aftermath.

These shifts have had a practical and psychological impact on all of us. Most of these changes have taken place in the airline industry although other parts of the travel industry and the nation as a whole have been forced to adjust also. Immediately after September 11, as you know, travel was drastically reduced virtually across the planet. In the past year, it has been steadily picking up.

However, in most cases, it has not reached pre-September 11 levels. Domestic travel In the United States has recovered much more quickly than international travel. In fact, domestic travel has been very strong this summer, with some destinations such as the national parks are reporting record breaking numbers of visitors. International travel has been picking up too, but more slowly. Recently, more people are beginning to plan international trips again.

How has September 11 affected the traveler? Well, many of you are no doubt familiar with the practical changes that have come about after 9/11. These have especially impacted air travelers. Airport security is much tighter. Access is much more rigorously restricted. Long lines are visible inside terminals and sometimes along the sidewalks outside the airport buildings. In short, you have to wait longer and in more lines than you used to.

As a result, whether you are flying domestically or internationally, it is necessary to arrive at airports earlier than before, and make sure that all your documents are in order. One of the more drastic changes is that all security screeners at United States airports have been professionally trained. Passenger´s carry on items are passed through an X-ray machine where they are checked for what in today´s terms are considered dangerous items such as knives, corkscrews, and so forth.

Even the airplanes themselves are more secure. After 9/11, when the Department of Homeland Security was put into place, they were given the task of performing vulnerability assessments on over 75 of the United States´ major airports and actual airline security systems.

Now, every US larger passenger aircraft has now been equipped with hardened cockpit doors. Thousands of federal air marshals were assigned to flights in order to help ensure the safety of passengers, and to guard against terrorist acts. We have just recently witnessed an unfortunate event where a person on an aircraft claiming to have a bomb was shot by an air marshal. Make no mistake about it; these security measures are very serious.

Psychologically, the changes have been profound. Americans are skittish travelers, and they tend to somewhat indiscriminately lump together vast portions of the world.

After September 11, they have tended to avoid travel to any country in the Middle East and much of Asia, as well as India and Pakistan. For the traveler, one of the results of travel in a post-9/11 world is that you need to be better informed about your destination.