We have already written about the fact that Miami and Orlando airports are the only two large airports in the US that employ full body screening for their employees. This Monday, the news came out that the Transportation Security Administration definitely said no to obligatory full screenings in a report they did on the security in our nation’s airports.

According to the report, the full employee screening would not:

appreciably increase the overall system-wide protection.

The report also said that the screening:

is incapable of determining a person’s motivations, attitudes and capabilities to cause harm, among other limitations.

It also said that:

No single measure can provide broad-spectrum protection against risks or adversaries,

And that:

Therefore, risk-based, multi-layered security offers the greatest ability to mitigate risks through the application of flexible and unpredictable measures to protect commercial aviation.

The cost is also one of the reasons why 100% screening is not possible at most airports across the country.

The report inspired Jeh Johnson, the TSA Secretary to announce immediate actions, such as criminal background checks for airport aviation workers every two years, reduction of access points to secure areas, increased random screening of employees and screening of airport employees who travel as passengers.

The report has also suggested that employee vetting should be strengthened and that the TSA should expand their collection of domestic intelligence, including monitoring the social media and improving reward programs for employees who report security issues.

Despite the “no” to full screenings, the TSA report is definitely a step in the right direction and we hope that it will be acted upon, resulting in increased security at US airports.