Security at Boston’s Logan International Airport has improved dramatically in the three years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a recently released report by two Seattle-based security agencies.
The report is welcome news for the airport’s owner, the Massachusetts Port Authority, which was severely criticized after 10 of the hijackers passed through Logan security before hijacking and crashing airplanes into New York’s World Trade Center.
The study, published jointly by Advanced Interactive Systems Inc. and New Age Security Solutions, both involved in the airport security improvements, said the “complete overhaul” of Logan’s security measures was effective.
The security changes took place in less than a year, according to the study, and consisted of such measures as field assessment, security consulting for future terminal design and training for the Massachusetts State Police assigned to Logan.
Security improvements also include the installation of the Behavior Pattern Recognition, a computer system that helps security personnel “observe behaviors of people to identify a person with hostile intentions,” according to the report.
The two security agencies implemented an inline hold baggage screening system, that screens checked baggage after passengers check in, preventing extensive and unneeded delays.
Boston-area students, many of whom travel to and from the city via Logan, said they noticed a difference in security measures taken at Logan.
Northeastern University sophomore Lia Brunelle said the new system “seems to work okay.”
“They check all the laptops and shoes, and I’ve been extra checked a few times for setting off the metal detector with my belt or jewelry,” she said.
Despite a stigma about Logan that some people may see in relation to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Brunelle said, “they’ve done a lot since then to improve the security – just like other airports nationwide.”
But other students say that the added security measures have become a nuisance.
“I don’t go through more security, but they pull more people over randomly … I think it’s annoying,” said College of Communication sophomore Ashleigh Bateman.
Kenya native and School of Management junior Muchai Njagwi expressed confidence in Logan’s security measures, especially those on international flights.
“I feel it’s much more improved than before September 11, 2001,” Njagwi said. “They have to do what they have to do to protect the homeland.”
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