Today, air travel is much different then it used to be. Many more safety precautions are being taken now due to September 11, 2001. On that day, two airplanes flew into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a result of a terrorist attack. This was just a regular morning, people rushing to commute to their jobs on time. Although by noon, it was anything but ordinary. 13,000 innocent victims had lost their lives. 9-11 is something that millions of people remember every year so the government is still taking lots of precautions to make sure a horrible event like that doesn’t happen again.
Currently, the United States air traffic control system is the safest in the world. The FAA and it's Air Traffic Organization are constantly working on new ways to improve their systems so we can stay the best. Air traffic controllers in faculties guide the airplanes that are flying though high altitudes into large, empty sections of airspace. The controllers monitor radar screens to check on the airplanes, and are in communication with the pilot through communication lines that can travel up to thousands of miles away. However, most of the controllers don't even see the plane they guide. There are 21 centers that control the aircrafts flying through United States airspace.
These attacks didn't help U.S. airlines at all. Many major airlines were having problems already. Shortly after this accident, Delta, United, US Airlines and Northwest Airlines filed for bankruptcy. The immediate impact of 9-11 was very treacherous to the airlines. Once the airports shut down, these major companies were losing income, and a lot of people stopped flying after this. In fact, US airlines posted 2001 net losses of over $7 billion, and US Airlines also had 80,000 layoffs alone. They have lost "years of traffic growth", meaning that the industry needs more people to fly again and more money to come their way so they can try to get back to the ways things were before the tragedy.
Now, it seems that airports are getting a good hold on their security. No sharp or potentially dangerous objects are allowed as a carry on; some you are allowed to take with you but they must go through checked baggage. They have the full-body scanner and carry-on checking to ensure that it's hard to have anything or anybody dangerous with you on the plane. You also need a specific background check for your tickets and there are security guards at the airport to check them for authenticity. Sometimes it may seem to be annoying and just a hassle, but it's extremely important for our safety.
In conclusion, air travel has been dramatically affected by 9-11. Airlines have lost a very large patch of money and some of their customers, but hopefully if things keep going the way they are now, those problems will decrease. Airports across the U.S. are very aware of this unfortunate situation, and are raising their security measures for the safety of the passengers. Our air traffic control system is at the top of its game right now; always working on new ways to be improved. In unison with all this, it's getting easier to say that an event like 9-11 won't happen again.
