The Transportation Security Administration is weighing an end to security screenings at more than 150 small and medium-sized airports, a move experts say is dangerous, CNN reports.
The TSA could save $115 million annually by implementing the change, which would apply to airports that serve planes with 60 seats or fewer, and use that money to boost security at larger airports, according to internal documents obtained by CNN.
Passengers and luggage arriving from smaller airports would be screened when they arrive at major airports, as high-volume facilities are better equipped to handle more advanced security sweeps.
The proposal would mark a significant change for air travel security.
The TSA was created in 2001 as a response to the Sept. 11 attacks. Before its existence, airports had outsourced air travel security to private security firms, but when terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people, national security efforts changed forever.
Nineteen hijackers managed to pass existing checkpoints and board airplanes without incident, despite some lacking proper identification. The four flights hijacked included two that departed from Boston Logan, one from Washington Dulles, and one from Newark International.
Top TSA officials, who were not named, expressed serious concerns to CNN about the proposal.
CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said it was "stunning that this is even seriously being considered."
"Al-Qaida and ISIS still regard aviation as a priority target – that includes aircraft where you have fewer than 60 people on board," he said. "They would see that as a way to hit the headlines. They would see that as a way to inflict severe economic damage on the United States. If you have an aircraft of 50 or so people being blown out of the sky, there is going to be a great amount of panic, and there will indeed be significant economic reverberations, and, of course, significant loss of life."
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