Airport security, the word in a nutshell, refers to the techniques and methods in general applied in the overall protection of airports though extension aircraft from crime and terrorism.

Terrorism, both in national and international scenario has been a problem for airlines and air travelers since the 1970s. It was this age that brought to the fore the unknown words of hijackings and bombings. By and large these became the method of choice for the subversive, militant organizations throughout the world. The repeated onslaughts have forced the security organizations to beef up security. However, in spite of the stringent vigilance the ghastly 9/11 incident made people cautious about the harsh veracity and about the need of advanced security.  On the fateful day armed with simple box cutters four passenger jets were hijacked and were used as suicidal missiles. It was the greatest shock to the International Security in the recorded history shaking the root of the international airport security infrastructure. It is estimated the reinforcement in the following years has changed the shibboleth dimension once and for all.

Almost 730 million people are regular passengers every year, while more than 700 million pieces of their baggage are screened for explosives and other dangerous items. Airport security appears to be the first line of defense in its effort to stop the prominent attackers from bringing weapons or bombs into the airport. With its success, the chances of these devices getting on to aircraft are greatly reduced. Thus the Airport Security has a two-fold objective, to protect the airport from attacks and crime and to protect the aircraft from the sinister designs of attack. Through the construction of fences, barriers and walls efforts are made to check the intrusion and to save the lives of the innocent commuters. Countries like India following the Kandahar hijacking in 1999 has overhauled the entire system with the CISF forming an Airport Security Group for protecting Indian airports. The aiports fall under the surveillance of APSU (Airport Security Unit), a highly trained unit to counter unlawful interference with civil aviation.