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By September 11, 2026 / 8:27 PM EDT / CBS Miami Add CBS News on Google The 9/11 hijackers exploited vulnerabilities in airport security to carry out the attacks. That has led to a complete transformation of screening procedures and changes to the way we fly. The response to the attacks included the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
"TSA is a big one," said Brian Fonseca, vice provost for defense and national security at Florida International University. "They were born out of the need to ensure security and safety of passengers so they can get from destination A to destination B without the prospect of finding themselves in a similar situation to what we saw on 9/11 with the hijackers," he said. Launching the TSA is said to be one of the largest government mobilizations since WWII.
There were changes to screening procedures, new technology, no-fly lists and biometric scanners. On airplanes, reinforced cockpit doors and air marshals were deployed. In all, it was a massive transformation that impacts how we travel today.
"Fundamentally, the idea that airplanes could be missiles that could be weaponized to take American lives was not something that was thought of as being within the realm of possible," Fonseca said. But airports weren't the only concern. Florida has major seaports and a massive tourism industry.
"I think we had a very unique concern in that given our proximity to the world, our borders, and the ease in which people come and go ... we had very special threats," said Dan Gelber, a former Miami Beach mayor who was a Florida state representative in 2001. "Right after 9/11, the legislature convened a 9/11 committee, the House and the Senate, and started looking at our, sort of our defenses and to figure out what we needed to do quickly and then what we need to do in the medium and the long term," he said. Intelligence-sharing was a priority as well as hardening security at all ports of entry — measures that continue to evolve today.
"If you take a lot of these measures, you eliminate a lot of those risks. You reduce them," Gelber said. "You're going to deter somebody and probably more than just a few.
And that's worth it." In: South Florida United States Department of Homeland Security Florida International University Transportation Security Administration Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport Florida Miami International Airport 9/11 Miami-Dade 9/11 led to the launch of TSA, called one of the largest government mobilizations since WWII 02:51 9/11 led to the launch of TSA, called one of the largest government mobilizations since WWII (02:51)
Source: CBS News
