ABSTRACT
For radical Islamists today, the United States is depicted as 'The Great Satan'-a corrupt, amoral and evil empire inimical to everything that Islam (as these groups interpret it) represents. Terrorism has long been a potential threat in the United States. Many foreign governments and both American and foreign organisations claim ideological, religious and economic motives for supporting and carrying out an attack on the United States. An immediate impact of the hijacking and the destruction of the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon was the grounding of all civil aircraft in the United States and the suspension of all international arrivals and departures, which were either diverted to Canada Or returned to the point of departure. The issue of airline and airport security became one of the most important challenges facing the world tourism industry. Airlines and airport authorities worldwide had actively addressed this issue since air piracy first emerged as a terrorist tactic during the 1960s.
