On November 13, 2015, multiple terrorist attacks took place across the city of Paris. Shortly after these horrible attacks was a major time for travel in the United States-Thanksgiving. Did airports in the U.S. tighten their security protocols to protect travelers from possible attacks?

Within the Jacksonville airport, there have been no major changes other than an increase of security personnel.

Mia Morgan(’20), a boarder, went home to New Jersey for her Thanksgiving break.  She took 2 flights total and the flight there had no major security events, but on her way back to the Bolles School, she said “I got stopped because I had a pencil in my pocket.”  The officers let her go and Morgan thinks that they let her off easy because she is just a teenager.

Morgan did not notice any differences, other than an extra amount of officers scattered around the airport.  The extra security shows that the airports have become more cautious.

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer, whose name will stay anonymous for professional reasons, that works the 4am to 12:30 pm shift patting down passengers and securing the plane said that none of the security procedures have changed, but the airports have become more cautious with screening.  

The officer said that they also search the crew.  They search the person and, at randomly selected times, they search the bags of the crew.

The officer also said that no procedures have changed in the international gates and checkpoints either

Dr. Pradeep Arora, father of Ananta Arora (’17), traveled to New York over Thanksgiving.  He said that the airport was more prepared for stopping people, but there was no change in the checking of the bags nor the actual security checkpoint.  Dr. Arora said that they knew that security would be tight, so they packed accordingly.

The Bolles students and families did not find any major security changes, but they did notice an increase of security and an increase in caution in the airports.  

The airports have not responded to the recent bombings as expected, but they have increased their caution.