Air Travel Before And After

On September 11, 2001 one of the worst disasters in United States history happened; two planes crashed into the World trade Centers. Before that there was already a weakening economy; but after that air travel completely changed. At the begging of 2001 America had over six million people flying in, out, and around the country. When everyone learned the cause of their collapse, that being terrorists, no one wanted to fly. We went from six million to less than four million within one year. The cause of not many people flying took a toll on many airlines. Some airlines filed for bankruptcy, and others laid workers off. This reveled the terrorists’ whole plan. To not only kill and hurt people, but to rip us by taking jobs away. Now you are not allowed to bring almost anything on the plane with you. You can’t bring things like gel, sports equipment, and any sharp objects. Some people won’t travel because of this. Pilots doors used open from the outside of the cockpit, but now only the pilot can open the door from the inside of the cockpit. After 9/11 the people from United States was down -2%. Most North American Airlines reduced capacity and staffing almost immediately. There were 80,000 layoffs by US Airlines alone. The money lost after 9/11 was estimated to be 7 million or more. Many companies filed for bankruptcy. Increased security measures and uncertainty about associated passenger delays affect business travelers most. Increased security costs and impacts on aircraft turn-around times and utilization. Some people suggest that 9/11 didn’t have an effect on the world or our economy. They think that the economy was already declining and that even if 9/11 never happened the economy still would have declined. The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 had an immediate and substantial impact on international travel worldwide. The attacks induced substitution away from air travel generally and caused a shift in the preferences of travelers for particular destinations. The United States in particular experienced an immediate and precipitous drop in arrivals of international visitors, particularly from those flying in from overseas. The initial drop in arrivals immediately following 9/11 in part reflected widespread concern about the safety of international air travel. Economic factors most likely also played a role in reducing travel to the United States in the aftermath of 9/11. Between 2001 and 2002, for example, the global economy experienced a recession that reduced demand for air travel generally. In addition to safety concerns and deteriorating economic conditions, the perception that U.S. visa policy became more restrictive in the wake of 9/11 may also have negatively impacted arrivals. Such perceptions prompted concern within the travel industry that the United States was becoming a less attractive travel destination and was damaging its image abroad (Alden, 2008). Although visa policy itself did not considerably change after 9/11, the security screening procedures that are part of the visa application process were intensified. After the 9/11 attacks certain administrative procedures related to visa insurance and entry at the U.S. border were part of an enhanced travel security program.  While travelers from countries were exposed to the same screening procedures upon entry to the United States, some travelers from some countries were subject to an additional layer of processing. Taken together, the fact that travelers are released from the visa insurance procedures and are not exposed to the additional entry processing that some arrivals undergo introduces inter-country variation that can be used to test whether the new procedures actually reduced travel to the United States. It took years for America to recover from this. Even now people are afraid to fly, and we are still recovering from the twin towers catastrophe. Security has also drastically changed over the past few years. Guards do full x-ray analysis are more careful than ever before. Passenger confidence in airline security is also important.  Absence of new terrorism and stabilizing military situation and increased security measures and uncertainty about associated passenger delays affect business travelers most. This is sometimes caused because of a terrorist scare. Also the cost of flying has gone up since then. This is because of security costs. I still am not sure if it was 9/11 that caused people to stop flying. After all the economy was the worst it’s been in a while then.