Terrorism and Its Impact on the Aviation Sector - Research Paper Example

Introduction A large number of people use the airports and this presents a like hood of attacks through terrorism and other forms of crime, there is need to prevent bringing in of devices or weapons that would jeopardize the security of the airports. The airport security in most cases is mandated to safeguard the people from attacks and crime and at the same time protect the aircraft from attack, assuring the safety of the traveling public. The issue of airport security and terrorism is very critical at the moment following recent attacks in different parts of the world and sprouting of terrorism a group that puts the global security at jeopardy and thereby affecting the aviation sector in a big way. This brings out the need to tighten the global security mostly within the airports that forms the target of terrorism attacks. This paper will focus in details on the issue of terrorism, its impact on aviation sector, and efforts that have been made to curb terrorism. Terrorism and its impact on the aviation sector According to the United States department of defense, terrorism is systematic use of prohibited violence, or threat of violence to instill fear, with the aim of coercing or intimidating government and societies in pursuing political, economic or ideological goals. It is a criminal act that usually influences an audience beyond the immediate victim. The terrorist, the victim and the public in general are the three perspective of terrorism. In most cases, he terrorist view themselves as not being evil but have the belief that they are combatants who are legitimate, fighting by whatever means at their disposal for what they believe in. On the other hand, the victim of a terrorism act views the terrorist as a criminal who has no regard for human life at all. The terrorist is meant to believe that in whatever he does he will get the backing of the general public for this cause (Adweek, 2003). Terrorism has been used in the past as a strategy by a number of people while other perpetrators consider it a holy war and thus obligated to take part in it. In spite of this a lot still has to be considered based on the different school of thought. When looked at critically, it is a weapon used by the stronger in the society to suppress the weaker ones. Terrorism uses power which is coercive in nature and military tactics are employed in terror acts. It is difficult to ascertain the magnitude of terror attacks because the attacker’s organization is not easy to understand and do something about it in short period of time (Adweek, 2003). That is the reason why such preemption is being considered to be so significant. In some cases, terrorism has been a way of carrying on with a conflict without the victim realizing the magnitude of the threat, thereby considering terrorism as a criminal activity. Because of such characteristics, terrorism has commonly been on the increase among those who are pursuing extreme goals all over the world. Terrorism can be a nebulous concept despite its popularity (Adweek, 2003). Impact of terrorism on the aviation industry Terrorism is a critical factor that is instrumental to the aviation industry. The airline industry is particularly prone to this issue because of the fact that aircrafts transports a great number of passengers. As a result, terrorists who want to get the world’s attention can easily do so using this avenue. Additionally, aircrafts usually transport people of a multicultural mix and therefore it is always possible to communicate to a variety of governments through the airline industry. Airlines provide the avenue through which potential terrorists can enter target countries. The worst incident in regard to this was the September 11 attacks. After this incident, the US government took up to the task of beefing up its security measures in all entries into their country most especially the airports. The airline industry was affected by this because of the fact they were the ones that had to cover costs of these improved security measures (Keller, 2000). The safety of the aviation sector has in recent times has been the focus of players from both civil and military departments. Over time, there have been efforts to ensure safety of the aviation sector and security of users of the airports. Both acts of terrorism and other acts of crime have changed the outlook of global security. Following a number of terrorism attacks, most government of states took the initiative to ensure safety in the transport networks. Undoubtedly, any act of terrorism is likely in a big way to affect the economy of the world (Keller, 2000). Actions taken to curb terrorism and the agencies involved The world view of terrorism has been inclined in the reactive as opposed to looking at it proactively. The shift in the way terrorism act are undertaken, has resulted in the need to have a pronounced a security logistics meet the demand. The incidences that have taken place in the world showcase the dynamism of the security in the aviation sector.  Perhaps, the most critical of the failure of the security logistics is the attack on the World Trade Center by the hijacked jetliners that killed about 3000 people. The targeting of the public through the use of planes is not a new phenomenon as it has happened in many parts of the world. In spite of all this the critical issue is the organization of such attacks that is sometimes based on minimal budget. This is a clear indication of the shift in the undertaking of the terrorist. In the past the main aim of terrorism was to crash the airplane and kill those onboard.  This has changed as the issue has gone further to include satisfaction of certain demands (Celmer, 1987). Terrorism can only be mitigated through ensuring that a favourable environment for attacks is not created and that probable impact of the attacks is analysed through proper logistics. Proper measures should be put in place to ensure no government institution or citizens of any given state take part or facilitate acts of terror.this will ensure that the terrorist do not have conducive environment to undertake their inhuman acts. In adhering to the lid down global treaties and agreements concerning terrorism which stipulates the punishment for engaging in organisation of terror acts be in through facilitation or participation, the global security will be guaranteed (United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, 2006) It is also critical to ensure that perpetrators of terror acts and accomplices are brought to book and charged accordingly based on the laid down provisions of the global strategy on countering terrorism. In relation to this government and states should ensure the judicial structure and mechanism that are proper to this effect. It is also important for proper and timely dissemination of information across government and security institution to action is taken on time to avoid incidences of terror attack. Lastly, collaboration in the fight against other undertakings that are connected with terror attackers is significant. Such activities may include drug trafficking, weapon smuggling in and out of states especially in the war prone areas where suspects might use that as an opportunity to trade in weapons that affect the security and dealings in chemical that are dangerous to human life (United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, 2006) Conclusion It is of great importance to ensure that proper measures are put in place to ensure no favorable environment for terror attacks are availed. This will involve ensuring that conflicts that exist at the moment are resolved. Other measures may include no victims of terror is dehumanized and pain inflicted to them. The rule of law should be allowed to act against the perpetrators and acts of human rights violations should not be allowed to take place be it on the basis of ethnicity, nationality and religion, political affiliation, socio-economic status and no one of such acts can be used to justify acts of terror. References Adweek. (2003). New York, NY: VNU Business Publications. Celmer, M. A. (1987). Terrorism, U.S. strategy, and Reagan policies. New York: Greenwood Press. Keller, R. & Buttler, G. (2000); Handbook of Airline Operations - Aviation Week; McGraw-Hill Companies United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2006). New York, NY: United Nations Department of Public Information. Celmer, M. A. (1987). Terrorism, U.S. strategy, and Reagan policies. New York: Greenwood Press. Read More