What Airports Can Learn From the Cleveland Airport TSA Security Breach

Airports are not fortresses. That’s what the chief of the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport said after the perimeter breach in the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 2019, when a yellow SUV approached the airport from the west side, crashing through an unattended chain-link gate. The vehicle apparently came to rest in a snowbank, where it was ultimately found, after driving across the airfield for nearly three minutes, crashing through another section of fence in the process. Review the key facts of the Cleveland Airport security incident before reviewing approaches to prevent a similar situation from happening again. While this breach didn’t result in a tragedy, it highlights the importance of proper security measures in airports and other secure areas.

Poor Gates Bar Effective Airport Security

For almost two decades, airports have been trying to secure themselves from intrusions of all kinds. While airports have been able to reduce the threat of insurgents boarding planes effectively, there are still lapses in external security that could prove extremely dangerous. The security gate is by far the weakest point in any fence-based security plan.