September 11 Rewrites Aviation Security
Four hijacked airliners lead Congress to federalize airport screening within ten weeks
Quick facts
- Act signed
- November 19, 2001
- New agency created
- Transportation Security Administration
- Baggage screening deadline
- 100% of checked bags by December 31, 2002
- TSA moved to DHS
- November 25, 2002
What happened
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which hijackers commandeered four commercial airliners using small blades that were permitted under pre-9/11 FAA rules, Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which President George W. Bush signed on November 19, 2001. The law created the Transportation Security Administration within the Department of Transportation and gave it responsibility for aviation security nationwide, replacing a system in which individual airlines had hired private contractors to staff security checkpoints. The Act required that by December 31, 2002, TSA screen 100 percent of checked baggage for explosives, mandated reinforced, locking cockpit doors on commercial aircraft, and expanded the Federal Air Marshal Service to place armed marshals on many more flights. The Homeland Security Act of November 25, 2002 then moved TSA into the newly created Department of Homeland Security.
Why it matters
The Act represents the fastest and most sweeping change to how ordinary passengers experience air travel in the industry's history, replacing a patchwork of airline-hired screeners with a single federal workforce and permanently adding baggage screening, reinforced cockpit doors, and passenger security checkpoints as standard features of commercial flight worldwide. It also marked the first time aviation security, rather than aviation safety alone, became a distinct, heavily funded federal mission separate from the FAA's traditional role.
How we know
The Act's provisions, TSA's creation, and baggage-screening compliance rates are documented in the U.S. Government Accountability Office's official review of aviation security progress since the September 11 attacks.
Sources
- U.S. Government Accountability Office. Aviation Security: Progress Since September 11, 2001, and the Challenges Ahead · Primary source (author-declared)gao.gov · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- The Avalon Project, Yale Law School. S 1447 Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Enrolled Bill), November 19, 2001 · Primary source (author-declared)avalon.law.yale.edu · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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