Public Confident in Security of Airline Travel

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Of the changes in American life since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, few have been more noticeable than those in the area of airport security. For those who fly, whether for business or personal travel, the aftermath of the attacks has become clear in the form of long lines at security checkpoints, random bag searches, and the sight of weapon-wielding National Guard troops in airport concourses.

A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows a large majority of Americans believe airport security has been improved at U.S. airports since Sept. 11. The Feb. 8-10 survey shows eight out of 10 Americans feel security has been improved "a great deal" or "a fair amount." The poll was conducted just a week before the federal government's new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) takes responsibility for maintaining airport security, and it shows that the public generally supports that plan as well -- 71% say the federal government will make security better, while 22% say it will have no effect. Just 5% believe the new federal role in airport security will make things worse.

It should be noted that there are few differences between the percentages reported above for national adults and those for Americans who have flown commercially since Sept. 11. However, among those who are frequent fliers (three or more air trips in the past year), there is a slightly higher degree of cynicism -- 26% of frequent fliers say security at airports has not improved much or at all since Sept. 11, compared to 16% of the rest of the public. Additionally, just 66% of frequent fliers believe the TSA will improve airport security, compared to 72% of the rest of the public.

Roughly Half of Americans Have Flown Since Sept. 11

While most Americans have flown commercially at least once during their lives, the percentage of those who fly in an average year amounts to about half of the adult population. In the latest poll, 52% of Americans report having taken at least one air trip during the past 12 months, and 48% have done so at least once since Sept. 11.

So are Americans afraid to fly after Sept. 11? When asked to describe their feelings about flying if they had to do it tomorrow, 18% said they would be "very afraid" and 26% said "somewhat afraid." The findings are essentially the same as those found in a November 2001 poll. However, the "fear factor" drops significantly for those who have flown since Sept. 11 and for the small percentage of frequent fliers. Among that last group, six out of 10 expressed no fears at all about air travel, while just 4% said they would be "very afraid" and 19% said "somewhat afraid."

Public Believes Terrorist Methods Difficult to Accomplish

Another gauge of the public's confidence in airport security can be found in the assessment of potential methods for carrying out a terrorist attack on an airliner. When asked how difficult or easy it would be for a terrorist to smuggle a deadly weapon onto a plane, 59% of those surveyed believed it would be difficult (14% said "very difficult" and 45% said "somewhat difficult"), while 39% said easy (24% "somewhat easy" and 15% "very easy"). The public was slightly more confident that security measures would stop a potential terrorist from smuggling a bomb on board an airliner, with 64% saying it would be difficult and 34% saying it would be easy. It should be noted that for both questions, there were few differences between the answers of the overall sample of national adults and those of frequent fliers.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,001 adults, 18 years and older, conducted Feb. 8-10, 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

If you had to fly on an airplane tomorrow, how would you describe your feelings about flying? Would you be -- very afraid, somewhat afraid, not very afraid, or not afraid at all?

Just your best guess, how much has security been improved at airports in the U.S. in the months since the September 11^th terrorist attacks -- a great deal, a fair amount, not much, or not at all?

The federal government is taking over the responsibility for airport security. Do you think this will make airport security -- [ROTATED: better, will it have no effect, or will it make it worse]?

How difficult or easy do you think it is for a terrorist to do each of the following -- very difficult, somewhat difficult, somewhat easy, or very easy? How about to -- [ITEMS ROTATED]?

A. Smuggle a deadly weapon such as a knife or gun onto an airplane

B. Smuggle explosives onto an airplane