Skip to page content

Air Transportation

Terrorism Threat Assessment
commentary
Approaching a 'New Normal': What the Drone Attack in Venezuela Portends
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke
Aug 13, 2018
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The attempt to assassinate Venezuelan President Maduro showed that drones are easy to use and difficult to defend against. Commercial off-the-shelf technology is easy to acquire. It is imperative that counterterrorism specialists begin planning a robust response to the threat.
Read More »

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
Coronavirus Outbreak, Drones, the U.S. Power Grid: RAND Weekly Recap
Mar 6, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the intensifying coronavirus outbreak, cyber threats from drones, the vulnerabilities of the U.S. power grid, and more.
Read More »
Turkey
blog
U.S.-Turkish Relations, Airports, Opioids: RAND Weekly Recap
Jan 17, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the future of the U.S.-Turkish partnership, helping America's commercial airports meet rising demand, the opioid crisis, and more.
Read More »
Terrorism Threat Assessment
commentary
Toy Drones and Twitter: The Ability of Individuals to Wreak Large-Scale Havoc
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke
Jun 18, 2018
The National Interest
Lone wolves or small groups could use drones, virtual currencies, encrypted communications, and artificial intelligence for nefarious purposes. The threat is even greater when these technologies are used in conjunction with disinformation spread over social media.
Read More »
Civilian and Commercial Drones
commentary
Drones Could Deliver Change to Africa
Shira Efron
Nov 17, 2017
Inside Sources
Drones could transform Africa's urban and rural infrastructure and enhance its agricultural productivity. But deployment of drones on the continent faces technological, economic, social, and legal, and regulatory challenges.
Read More »
Air Traffic Control
commentary
How to Prevent Drones Colliding in Crowded Skies
Kenneth Kuhn, William Welser IV, Jia Xu
Sep 14, 2016
Newsweek
The federal government should work with private firms to develop drone traffic management systems and test drone designs. This could help stimulate the development of drone aviation. It could also help modernize the air traffic control system.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
Out of Line: How to Better Protect Airports from Terrorist Attacks
Henry H. Willis @HenryHWillis, Michael A. Brown
May 2, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
In airport security, it's not the size of a potential terrorist bomb that matters most, it's where it detonates. Fortunately, new technologies may present opportunities to get travelers out of line and keep them safe.
Read More »
Civilian and Commercial Drones
commentary
Regulating Drone Airspace Using 'Smart Markets'
David Manheim, John F. Raffensperger, Jia Xu
Apr 19, 2016
TechCrunch
With commercially operated autonomous drones potentially on the horizon, a policy problem is likely to emerge: allocation of scarce airspace and preferred flight paths. 'Smart markets' could help.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
TSA Flunked Its Security Test Big Time — Now What?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jun 15, 2015
The Hill
We have to accept that humans, no matter how well-trained they are or how dedicated they are to their mission, are just not very good at maintaining laser-like focus while performing repetitive tasks. That does not mean airport security can ever be completely given over to machines.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
Are Airport Security Screeners Looking for the Wrong Things?
K. Jack Riley @K_Jack_Riley
Jun 4, 2015
Newsweek
An investigation revealed that the TSA has failed in contraband testing, at a 95 percent rate. This shouldn't be perceived as an indictment of TSA workers. But it may be an indictment of the particular assignments they've been given.
Read More »
Terrorist Bombings
commentary
TSA's Cellphone Rule Part of Deadly Race
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jul 29, 2014
CNN
While placing explosives inside a cellphone is plausible, it is almost impossible to do so with iPhones without rendering them non-functional, which is why the TSA is now checking cell phones are actually working.
Read More »
Ukraine
blog
Like Flight 370, the MH17 Crash in Ukraine Could Remain a Mystery
Jul 18, 2014
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was reportedly shot down yesterday near the Russia-Ukraine border. But like Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished in March, what happened to MH17 is shrouded in mystery.
Read More »
Air Transportation
commentary
3 Weapons That Threaten Commercial Planes
Carl Rhodes @CarlRhodes
Jul 18, 2014
U.S. News & World Report
It's relatively rare that commercial aircraft are targeted with weapons built primarily to attack military aircraft, but there are a range of potential threats from such weapons. Given that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was reportedly at 33,000 feet when contact was lost, it seems impossible that the attack could have occurred using a shoulder-fired missile.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
The Breach of Security at San Jose's Airport Raises Broader Issues
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
May 13, 2014
Mineta Transportation Institute
Those charged with security must think in terms of 360-degree security—not only screening passengers coming through the terminal, but also preventing unauthorized access to the aircraft from the air operations side of airport.
Read More »
Malaysia
commentary
The Flight 370 Mystery Gets Political
Jonah Blank
Mar 19, 2014
U.S. News & World Report
Why might unnamed sources try to link Anwar to a potential hijacking of an aircraft carrying 239 passengers? Possibly to divert attention from the government's ineffective management of the search in the days since the plane's disappearance.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
Want to Create Problems? Arm the TSA
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Nov 7, 2013
Los Angeles Times
With its current 47,000 screeners, an armed TSA would become the federal government's largest armed entity outside of the military. In the eyes of many, arming TSA screeners would change the image of the organization from a service aimed at guaranteeing safe air travel to an unwanted imposition of federal authority.
Read More »
Terrorism Threat Assessment
commentary
Airport Violence—Not a New Phenomenon
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Nov 2, 2013
The RAND Blog
Shootings at airports are nothing new, writes Brian Michael Jenkins. In fact, they have regularly occurred worldwide in recent years. The motives have included terrorism, crime, and mental illness.
Read More »
Terrorism Threat Assessment
commentary
More Secure or Less Free?
Henry H. Willis @HenryHWillis
Dec 17, 2012
The RAND Blog
It is thus not surprising that people report a willingness to trade convenience, money, and liberty for security. Legal precedent reinforces that decreased civil liberties may be accepted when confronting existential threats with demonstrably effective security—to a point, writes Henry H. Willis.
Read More »
Terrorism Threat Assessment
commentary
Fake Boarding Pass Fears Inflated
K. Jack Riley @K_Jack_Riley, Lillian Ablon
Dec 12, 2012
USA Today
Instead of ratcheting back the PreCheck program because of manufactured fears about security lapses, TSA should be encouraged to expand this program to more airlines, more airports and more infrequent travelers, write Jack Riley and Lily Ablon.
Read More »
Air Defense
commentary
Expect More Drone Use Like Recent Israeli Episode
Ted Harshberger @TedHarsh
Oct 11, 2012
U.S. News & World Report
Practically any country that aspires to an indigenous aviation industry (as most countries do, even if only for national pride) has a reasonably capable, medium-altitude unmanned drone system in development or flying already, writes Ted Harshberger.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
TSA Procedures Need to Be Remade from Scratch
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Sep 28, 2012
U.S. News & World Report
It is time for a new approach to meeting America's next-generation aviation security needs, one that dodges the influence of politics and bureaucracies and relies instead on the resources and objectivity of independent researchers operating from a clean slate, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
Three Ways to Improve Airport Screening
K. Jack Riley @K_Jack_Riley
Mar 7, 2012
USA Today
The TSA's pilot “Pre-check” program that pre-screens travelers who volunteer for it is an overdue advance in security, but it does not address some larger issues surrounding America's airports, writes K. Jack Riley.
Read More »
Counterterrorism
commentary
The Unmentionable Costs of Airline Security
K. Jack Riley @K_Jack_Riley
Sep 13, 2011
Bloomberg Government
For most of the past decade, the U.S. has pursued policies with very little regard to the costs they impose on travelers or the net reduction in risk that they generate, writes K. Jack Riley.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
Is it Time to Consider a New Approach to Airline Security?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Sep 1, 2011
The Ripon Forum
It may be possible that the development and deployment of improved security technologies and reconfigurations of security checkpoints will keep security one step ahead of terrorist adversaries, but it also may be an appropriate time to explore fundamentally new approaches, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
Read More »
Transportation Security
commentary
What We Can Learn from the Christmas Day Bombing Attempt
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins, Bruce Butterworth, Cathal Flynn
Mar 26, 2010
The Washington Post
President Obama's nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration said he would like U.S. airport screening to more closely resemble Israel's. Perhaps attention is turning to what really matters about the attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253: what it can teach us about aviation security, write
Read More »
commentary
Speed Low-Risk Travelers Through Increased Security
K. Jack Riley @K_Jack_Riley, Henry H. Willis @HenryHWillis
Sep 4, 2006
Los Angeles Business Journal
Published commentary by RAND staff: Speed Low-Risk Travelers Through Increased Security, in Los Angeles Business Journal.
Read More »
commentary
Fliers Have Reason to Jettison Jitters
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Sep 3, 2002
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published commentary by RAND staff.
Read More »
commentary
Put Brains Behind Airway Safety
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jul 30, 2002
New York Daily News
Published commentary by RAND staff.
Read More »
commentary
Get Used to It: Our Airports Are Vulnerable to Terrorism
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jul 25, 2002
Los Angeles Times
Published commentary by RAND staff.
Read More »
commentary
Safeguarding the Skies
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Sep 30, 2001
San Diego Union Tribune
Published commentary by RAND staff.
Read More »

Quoted

If people can come together around COVID-19, and all developments are showing that they can, then perhaps they can be equally innovative in tackling many of the more silent 'COVIDs' of the time—i.e., the less immediately impactful but equally urgent and important challenges associated with aging and frailty, mental health, cancer, comorbidities, and health inequalities as just some examples.
Sonja Marjanovic

Senior Research Leader and Head of THIS Institute-RAND Europe partnership
Source: The RAND Blog
The price to be paid for not doing everything possible to impede the spread of the pandemic in terms of readiness and letting soldiers (along with their families and any other civilians with whom they interact) get sick could be significant.
Michael Shurkin

Senior Political Scientist
Source: War on the Rocks