Since the September 11, 2001, attacks, US officials have focused resources to enhance internal security measures at airports across the country, ranging from advanced luggage screening equipment to additional police personnel. Security officials are now addressing a potential external security weakness at US airports, just weeks after a fiery car attempted to crash into an airport terminal at Glasgow Airport in Scotland. Port Authority officials have approved a plan to install protective vehicle barriers or posts in front of all 16 terminals at New York’s three major airports including Newark, Kennedy and La Guardia.
The vehicle posts, also referred to as “bollards,” are likely to be three feet tall and placed at irregular intervals, according to Port Authority Executive Director, Anthony Shorris. The irregular interval placement will inhibit the passage of motor vehicles, yet still allow passengers to walk through with luggage. The Port Authority has allocated $10 million for the project and expects to install the first set of bollards at Terminal B of Newark Liberty International Airport and at an unspecified terminal at La Guardia Airport by the end of 2007.
Currently, US security consultants estimate that only one quarter of the airports on the East coast use permanent bollard systems (source). The installation of terminal barriers in New York’s major airports could take several years. However, a successful installation could serve as an example for airports around the country that lack sufficient vehicle barriers that could prevent an explosives-laden vehicle from penetrating terminal gates.
Incidents of Barrier Success and Failure
Although Port Authority officials claimed to have been planning this installation before the Glasgow incident, additional incidents of vehicle breaches illustrate the risks of a weak perimeter security at airports and other highly sensitive facilities.
• June 30, 2007: Two men drove an explosive-laden Jeep SUV into a terminal at Glasgow airport. Packed with explosive materials, the men drove the jeep toward the heavily crowded terminal. Although the resulting fire from the crash damaged the exterior of the building, the permanent bollards effectively prevented the car from fully penetrating the terminal gates and thereby potentially saved the lives of hundreds of people.
• July 30, 2007: A man drove a car through a Tennessee nuclear plant perimeter checkpoint and eventually crashed the car into a vehicle barrier. Although the incident was not related to terrorism, it highlights the importance of vehicle barriers at facilities that hold dangerous materials.
• In the summer of 2004, a man drove a car through the perimeter fence of Midway Airport in Chicago and entered the secure grounds of the airfield. If the car was packed with explosives, this person could have potentially inflicted mass damage and casualties to the planes entering and exiting the airport’s runways.
• In December 1999, Los Angeles authorities thwarted a planned attack on Los Angeles International Airport. Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian Canadian, planned to detonate 124 pounds of explosives in his car at LAX. It is unclear whether Ressam planned to crash the vehicle into a terminal, however fortified bollards would prevent the vehicle from gaining a proximity to the terminals.
A Gradual and Necessary Process
In addition to implementing anti-vehicle barriers at US airports, other measures may be explored. Airports may look to install temporary concrete bollards and also investigate possible methods of setting up perimeter screenings to detect explosives before the vehicle is allowed ingress into the airport.
However, the failed attack at the Glasgow Airport is definitive evidence that strategically placed bollards can effectively fortify a terminal gate against a surging vehicle, and thus enhance the safety of an airport.
