Today marks 24 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a day that changed not just the United States but global aviation forever. For those of us who travel frequently, the impact remains visible every time we step into an airport.

24 Years Later, Air Travel Still Bears The Mark Of 9/11

Each year, I like to address the 9/11 attacks and in reviewing prior articles, I was drawn earlier today to my post on September 11, 2011, which was shockingly candid during a period of the blog in which I shied away from expressing my political and religious feelings. If you have a few minutes, it’s worth a read…and strikes me as just as true today as it was in 2011.

> Read More: Ten Years Later, Critically Examining 9/11

But 24 years after the 9/11 attacks (I’ve now lived almost 2/3 of my life after the attacks…oh how time flies), we still see it every time we fly.

Before 9/11, flying was a very different experience. Family members could walk with you to the gate, security was quick and relatively unobtrusive, and the notion of fortified cockpit doors or removing shoes at screening was unheard of. Air travel felt more open, almost casual, compared to the highly regulated, security-heavy environment we now take for granted.

The attacks exposed vulnerabilities that fundamentally reshaped aviation. The Transportation Security Administration was created, screening procedures were tightened, and security theatre became a regular part of the passenger journey. Some of these measures, like limits on liquids and requiring laptops to be removed from bags, are daily reminders of the events of that day (kudos to the Trump Administration for removing the onerous shoe removal requirement). Others, like secure cockpit doors, hardened flight decks, and expanded no-fly lists, operate more quietly in the background but remain just as consequential.

I was young when 9/11 happened, but I still remember the eerie silence of the skies in the days that followed and the shift in how we thought about flying. The innocence of boarding a plane without much worry never really returned. For the traveling public, that sense of freedom has been replaced with a permanent sense of fear.

None of this is to argue against the need for vigilance. Aviation security has evolved in ways that have helped prevent another catastrophic event. But 24 years on, it is clear the effects of 9/11 are built into the fabric of every journey we take, and I’m not sure whether that is something to celebrate or even tolerate as an acceptable trade-off to “keep us safe.”

CONCLUSION

9/11 remains a defining moment for aviation. Even nearly a quarter of a century later, its imprint is felt in the way we travel, the rules we follow, and the experience we endure at airports. As we pause to remember the lives lost, we also acknowledge that the legacy of that day lives on each time we fly.

I intend to address the tragic death of Charlie Kirk (and Melissa Hortman) in a future post, as there is a travel angle and even a link to 9/11, but today I will simply mourn for Erika Lane Kirk and her two kids, who lost their husband and father yesterday. What another tragic death in America and a reminder of the tragic loss on 9/11/2001, both fueled by ideological intolerance.

image: CCTV footage of hijacker in the early morning hours of 9-11-2001