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On September 11, 2001 the terrorist attacks on the United States left the country in a state of shock. Many Americans were afraid to use public transportation or even attend public events because of fear for the safety of themselves and their loved ones. Just after 9/11, many economists feared that the attacks may bring devastation to the weakened economy. Almost two years later, the United States has rebounded from the shock of 9/11, consumers and the economy proved to be stronger than many had thought. But how did the attacks impact business for airline companies, and the entire economy of the United States? Being that the acts of terrorism directly involved the security of airline travel, the effects impact this industry directly. In an already struggling business, the airline industry lost $7.7 billion after the attacks in 2001, not to mention hundreds of thousands of passengers (1). This caused major problems for carriers in the industry, and even forced several airlines to file for bankruptcy. United Airlines, the world’s second largest carrier, let go thousands of employees during 2002 to make up for losses and eventually filed bankruptcy. Prices of shares dropped immediately, leaving the shareholders to suffer heavy losses. US Airways also filed for bankruptcy, while other major airlines, like Delta Airlines, are undergoing major losses. “Atlanta-based Delta, the No. 3 U.S. carrier, posted a first-quarter net loss of $466 million and has said it is looking to cut costs by $1.5 billion to $2 billion by 2005” (2). Delta reduced their workforce by 16,000 employees and lost 1.3 billion in 2002, despite union employees accepting pay cuts. The terrorist attacks caused many other problems for the industry: long airport delays, ticket taxes and rising insurance premiums. Increased security screening has been a major issue since September 11, and has led to the creation of the Transportation Security Administration(TSA).
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