Are Airports Really Ready for Knives When They Cant Keep People Off the Tarmac?

Are Airports Really Ready for Knives When They Cant Keep People Off the Tarmac?

Delta Airlines, the Transportation Security Administration and the Atlanta Police Department are still confused and trying to figure out how passenger Shannon Reynolds ended up on the tarmac.

Reynolds arrived at the airport around 5:00am so she would have time to park at an off-site parking lot and still have time to catch her flight. Accidentally, she pulled into a Delta employee parking lot where she was simply waved through two separate security checkpoints and allowed to park. She even was allowed on a Delta employee shuttle bus without being asked for identification, and because none of the employees on board the shuttle were wearing uniforms, the traveler didn’t realize it was for employees only.

“When I got to the airport, I looked around and I realized this is not where I was supposed to be. It was the tarmac with a big airplane sitting there,” Reynolds told CNN.

She promptly alerted the shuttle driver who still allowed her to get out of the bus onto the tarmac. Reynolds was then escorted and allowed into a secure area by an airport employee who told her to go downstairs and go through security as all passengers normally do. It wasn’t until she was inside the terminal that someone finally stopped her and asked for her identification. This prompted the investigation as to how she had made it so far without being checked.

TSA is conducting an investigation to determine how an individual, without proper credentials accessed a secure area of the airport from an airline employee parking lot, while Delta is re-emphasizing to its employees the importance of checking employee identification at Delta employee parking lots.

Reynolds was transported back to her car, allowing her to move it; however, she missed her 6:30am flight.

Reynold’s path BEFORE getting asked to show identification:

  • Delta employee parking lot entrance
  • Delta employee security checkpoint #1
  • Delta employee security checkpoint #2
  • Parked her car in Delta employee parking lot
  • Delta employee shuttle bus
  • Tarmac
  • Secure area of the airport
  • Downstairs to passenger security – FINALLY asked for identification.

So, on April 25, 2013, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will be allowing small knives, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, golf clubs, and souvenir baseball bats as carry-on items.

The reasoning behind this decision?

To allow officers to better focus on higher threat items.

Really? Then, what happened on the tarmac? Isn’t this incident a “higher threat” security breach that was ignored by employees? Where were TSA officers?

As I think about this incident, I wonder what could have happened if Shannon Reynolds wasn’t Shannon Reynolds, but a terrorist or a criminal.

(Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/04/travel/georgia-passenger-tarmac/index.html)

About the Author

Ginger Hill is Group Social Media Manager.

Featured

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

  • Report: Cyber Attackers Continue to Turn to AI-Based Tools to Avoid Detection

    Comcast Business recently released its 2025 Cybersecurity Threat Report, a comprehensive analysis of 34.6 billion cybersecurity events detected between June 1,2024 and May 31, 2025. Now in its third year, the report offers business leaders a unique perspective into the evolving threat landscape and provides actionable insights to help organizations strengthen their defenses and align cybersecurity with business risk. Read Now

  • Axis Communications Creates AI-powered Video Surveillance Orchestra

    What if cameras could not only see the world, but interpret it—and respond like orchestra musicians reading sheet music: instantly, precisely, and in perfect harmony? That’s what global network technology leader Axis Communications set to find out. Read Now

  • Just as Expected

    GSX produced a wonderful tradeshow earlier this week. Monday was surprisingly strong in the morning, and the afternoon wasn’t bad at all. That’s Monday’s results and asking attendees to travel on Sunday. Just a quick hint, no one wants to give up their weekend to travel and set up an exhibit booth. I’m just saying. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • NOLA: The Crescent City

    Twenty years later we finds ourselves in New Orleans. Twenty years ago the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina forced exhibitors and attendees to look elsewhere for tradeshow floor space. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

New Products

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.