Millions of people will head to airports this week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. All will go through the Transportation Security Administration’s ritualized security: Remove belts and shoes, and confirm no toothpaste exceeds 3.4 ounces. Much of it is theater designed to prevent the last terror attack rather than the next one.

The biggest vulnerability to airlines today is not passenger screenings at American, European, or East Asian airports, but it’s rather the expansion of airline alliances to include compromised airliners, airports, and terror states. Consider Turkish Airlines, a member of the Star Alliance group. A private-public partnership, the Turkish government owns almost 50% of its flagship airline, while those close to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dominate the remainder.