2 Decades After 9/11, Newark Airport Looks Back On ‘Federalization’

NEWARK, NJ — It’s been more than two decades since terrorists hijacked United Flight 93 out of Newark, crashing the plane into a field in Pennsylvania and killing everyone on board. That flight – which departed from Terminal A – and the other tragic events of the September 11th attacks were the catalyst that led to the formation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

It also led to the “federalization” of Newark Airport, a milestone that marked its 20th anniversary on Monday.

TSA administrators shared some background about the history of the designation:

“Newark launched under TSA security oversight in early August 2002, with a security checkpoint staffed by federal TSA officers 11 months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) became law in November 2001, establishing the TSA. That fall, TSA consisted of about 100 people working at folding tables in the basement of Department of Transportation headquarters. Today, 20 years later, there are 430 federalized airports and a workforce of 60,000 employees nationwide.”

The airport’s name was changed from Newark International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport in 2002 to pay tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks and to the Statue of Liberty, which is located only a few miles from the airport.

Nearly 1,300 TSA employees work at Newark Airport, the agency noted.

According to the TSA:

“The federalization of Newark Airport held special significance in thwarting possible future terrorist attacks and was extra meaningful to the region because on Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked United Flight 93 out of Newark, which crashed into a field in Shanksville, PA, killing everyone on board. Flight 93, which was originally en route from Newark to San Francisco, departed from Newark’s Terminal A on that fateful day. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey partnered with the pioneers of the young TSA to host TSA and allow officials to test the new policies and procedures as plans for the wider federalization of airports across the country took shape.”

“From our initial federalization as a TSA airport on August 13, 2002, until the present moment, the TSA team here at Newark Liberty has been executing our mission successfully, and in recognition and honor of the passengers and crew of United Flight 93,” said Thomas Carter, TSA’s federal security director for New Jersey.

“On that terrible day, the passengers and crew decided to fight the hijackers to ensure another building was not targeted, resulting in the loss of even more innocent lives,” Carter said, adding that the people who work at Newark Airport strive to honor their memories every day.

While there are many TSA employees at the airport who have firsthand memories of the 9/11 attacks – 225 to be exact – there are others who are too young to remember. But their peers, who serve as mentors, are there to tell them about what it all means, he added.

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