For the second time this month, a person has reportedly been allowed to pass through security at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and board a plane with a deadly weapon. On Monday, a man who had two hunting knives in his carry-on luggage, which were 3.5 inches and 5 inches long respectively, boarded a flight to Denver.
A TSA screener reportedly noticed something on the X-Ray machine, but checked the wrong bag. The unidentified man was questioned by authorities when he landed in Denver, but was later released without charges after it was determined there was no criminal intent.
Earlier this month, an American man was detained by authorities at a Japanese airport after he allegedly flew from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport with a loaded handgun in his possession. The gun was found in the man's bag while he was transferring to a flight bound for Bangkok, Thailand. Though the man said that he mistakenly brought the gun with him, he currently faces charges of violating Japan's gun control law.
These incidents raise serious questions about security at our nation's airports. What is the point of running all of our carry-on luggage, not to mention our shoes, through an X-Ray machine if security officials cannot catch passengers with handguns and hunting knives in their bags? What's most disturbing about these two incidents, however, is that they both occurred at the same airport, which raises some doubts as to the ability of security staff at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to keep people safe. I find it somewhat ironic that next year's ASIS conference will be held in Dallas and that people from all parts of the security industry will be passing through this very same airport next October. Maybe while they are in town, airport security could look up some of the various security consultants at the show and ask them for some advice.
