Is your contention that there haven't been any terrorist attacks, therefore airport security isn't effective?
Because over the last 25 years, there have been a _lot_ of "successful" terrorist attacks in the West, and none of them were on planes.
Exactly, air security has actually done a really good job over the last 25 years. I hope they keep improving it.
My point is that if improved airport security just shifts terrorist attacks to other places, the overall safety benefit is not as great as it may at first seem.