ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the ever more critical human factors in aviation security, a subject which human factors have played and will continue play a significant role. It presents a historical background of human factors issues, and emphasizes research approaches and findings, and their resulting operational applications. The chapter discusses the findings of periodic critical assessments of aviation security are summarized and their implications for human factors. It looks at the continuing problems that remain to be solved, predicting the changing mix of threats and assesses the anticipating the types of new procedures and technologies. The chapter begins with a brief history of aviation security, an accounting and description of threats to aviation security, the roles that have been assigned to human operators, and a description and assessment of factors that influence operator performance. Aviation security, particularly checkpoint screening, places extensive reliance on human perception, decision-making, and judgment to detect and resolve potential threats.
