Study: Security Lax at Some U.S. Airports

Security efforts at airports such as Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport failed to stop questionable passengers from traveling, a study has found.

Researcher Jeffrey Goldberg said in a report of his study that he was able to board an airplane at the Minnesota airport with a fake boarding pass and no photo identification, the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis said Monday.

Goldberg, who also wore a T-shirt featuring al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden during his airport test, said airports in major cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York failed similar security tests.

Goldberg said he attempted to look and act suspicious during his test at the Minnesota airport, using water to mimic sweat and telling airport officials he needed to fly to Washington soon.

He says in his study report that while he was lightly reprimanded for not having photo identification, he was allowed to board his flight.

A spokesman for the airport told the Star Tribune any questions regarding the study’s findings should be made to the Transportation Security Agency.