I was listening to a radio show this past week (All Things Considered, I think) that recounted the history of airplane screenings. It was fascinating. Before

I was listening to a radio show this past week (All Things Considered, I think) that recounted the history of airplane screenings. It was fascinating. Before screenings, hijackings were much more common and the airlines liked to negotiate themselves to keep things quiet (and, to their thinking, reduce passengers' fear). Hijackings were much more common, but generally dealt with quickly and quietly. It wasn't until a hijacked plane threatened to hit a Tennessee nuclear power plant that their thinking changed. No longer was it just the plane that was a hostage, but potentially a much bigger area, allowing for much bigger demands ($2Mil, to be exact). [1] The next year afterwards, though? Flying was up 15%. Turns out people liked not getting hijacked, and were willing to trade a (minimal) security check for that. Of course, the TSA is a much bigger beast today. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Airways_Flight_49 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Airways_Flight_49