Since the terrorist attack on America on September 11, hundreds of new security measures have been put in place to make Americans safer, or at least feel safer. Hotels and corporate offices now require guests to present a photo ID at check-ins and entrances. Airlines refuse to let passengers carry razor blades, scissors, or screwdrivers on flights.
At least one surefire way exists to improve security and protect personal privacy: positive passenger bag-matching. It would require that no checked bag be transported on a plane if its owner doesn't board the flight. Bag-matching became standard practice in Europe and Asia in the 1980s after suitcase bombs brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Air India Flight 182 en route to London, and UTA Flight 772 to Paris. In all three cases, the terrorists weren't on board.
Yet, in the U.S., where security is now top priority, authorities have chosen to ignore bag-matching. Instead, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has embraced largely untested electronic-detection systems that screen bags for bombs and other explosives. Critics charge that the TSA has overlooked such an obvious, sensible security measure because U.S. airlines have opposed bag-matching for years. They fear it might delay flights and persuade short-haul travelers to take a train or drive instead.
After September 11, bag-matching was back on the agenda. Yet, struggling airlines complained that implementing it on all domestic flights would drive them into bankruptcy. Such claims have zero merit, says Arnold Barnett, a former chair of the Federal Aviation Administration's technical team. In 1996, the team was asked to investigate the feasibility of bag-matching. In a 1997 experiment, which tested 11 airlines, 50 pairs of cities, 8,000 flights, and 750,000 passengers, Barnett showed that domestic bag-matching would cause delays averaging seven minutes on only one in seven flights and would require no reduction in flight schedules.
Barnett argues that bag-matching would deter bombers far more than electronic-detection systems. It ensures that the terrorist will proceed to the gate to board his plane. If, while he's waiting, detection devices reveal a bomb, he could be quickly located and arrested. “The combination of bag-matching and explosives detection could be far more potent than either measure on its own,” Barnett wrote in a Dec. 17 letter to TSA chief. He received a thank-you note that contained no indication that the TSA is contemplating action.
According to the passage, Pan Am Flight 103, Air India Flight 182, and UTA Flight 772 were similar in that __________.