{
  "id": 6788009,
  "title": "25 years after 9/11, some parts of air travel are starting to look familiar again. Here’s how much flying has changed",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/25-years-after-9-11-some-parts-of-air-travel-are-starting-to-look",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-11T18:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91605550/9-11-september-25-year-anniversary-how-much-air-travel-flying-has-changed-whats-the-same"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "It's hard to imagine that 25 years have passed since September 11, 2001. On that day, I was a young journalist at CNN headquarters when I witnessed the first and second planes crash into the World Trade Center live on the newsroom monitor. The terrorist attacks forever changed air travel in America. Gone are the days when anyone could bid farewell to loved ones at the gate, though that restriction has recently begun to ease. The ability to run late to a flight and enter on board in just half an hour is also largely a thing of the past.\n\nThe Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was established in November 2001, two months after the attacks, to implement uniform, restrictive screening and assume federal control of airport security from private companies. Before 9/11, security checks were less invasive than today's TSA procedures. There was no required REAL ID, no full-body screenings, no mandatory metal detectors with enhanced screening technology, no need to show your ID before security, and no intrusive measures such as facial scans using facial recognition software. Many of us long for the days when we could show up late to a flight, with a drink, and board our flight with relative ease.\n\nTSA security measures have made traveling a lengthy and exhausting experience. In 2025 alone, TSA screened 900 million people at airports. Today's TSA security measures \"begin long before you arrive at the airport.\" Most travelers likely aren't aware that TSA screens passenger information, cross-references it with intelligence and federal government watchlists, and does so both for international and domestic travel, before they even reach security. Printed boarding passes became mandatory after the September 11 attacks, and by 2010, mobile boarding passes accessible from smartphones became the standard. However, this post-9/11 requirement is now starting to ease. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is introducing TSA Gateside, which will allow those with PreCheck status to meet flights at the gate, even if they aren't flying themselves. Although pre-screening programs like TSA PreCheck were designed to reduce long lines, they haven't significantly sped up travel. At John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark airports, PreCheck members save travelers only about 5 to 10 minutes on average. Nevertheless, passengers have welcomed the end of the shoe removal rule, which, while not directly related to 9/11, was also instituted around the same time. Dedicated lanes for families and veterans have also expedited the security process at select airports.",
  "summary": "It’s hard to believe that 9/11 was 25 years ago today. On that day, September 11, 2001, I was a young journalist working at CNN headquarters, producing the noon newscast, when I saw the first, then the second, planes crash into the World Trade Center in real-time on the newsroom monitor. In an instant, everything about air travel in America changed. And 9/11 and has informed the way we have…",
  "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."
}