{
  "id": 6588341,
  "title": "From the Lockerbie bombing to 9/11: How attacks on flights defined US air travel",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/from-the-lockerbie-bombing-to-9-11-how-attacks-on-flights-defined-us",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-10T12:53:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/world/americas/from-the-lockerbie-bombing-to-911-how-attacks-on-flights-defined-us-air-travel-1.500669923"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The security system and screening procedures that air travelers encounter today were developed over time, primarily in response to attacks or attempted attacks that exposed new vulnerabilities. These events include the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Aviation disasters, like these, impact the world significantly because they connect different parts of the globe, stated Mary Schiavo, an aviation disaster attorney. After these incidents, authorities had to reconsider how they handled aircraft hijackings. Before 9/11, officials believed hijackers would try to negotiate rather than deliberately crash an aircraft, according to Schiavo, who served as the US Department of Transportation’s inspector general from 1990 to 1996. In the aftermath of 9/11, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced changes to airport security, such as restricting gate access to ticketed passengers, banning knives and box cutters from carry-on bags, and requiring reinforced cockpit doors. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created to screen passengers, baggage, and cargo. The agency also introduced risk-based screening methods, which involve sorting passengers based on their perceived risk. These changes followed the 9/11 Commission's identification of systemic failures that allowed the plot to proceed.",
  "summary": "Taking a commercial flight from a US airport generally requires a boarding pass to get anywhere near a gate, security screening controlled by the federal government and careful attention to the contents of carry-on bags. It wasn’t always this way. Travellers once passed through security checkpoints staffed by private contractors selected by airlines. Full-sized bottles of shampoo and cans of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}