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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- FOX21 is looking back at how the Sept. 11 attacks changed the world forever. One of the most visible changes is at local airports. 

"I remember that flight pretty vividly. The Denver Airport a week after when they started flying, and it's such a busy airport, but I was the only one there. It was a ghostly feeling," Will Rogers, a Colorado Springs passenger, said.

Keeping passengers safe as they fly the friendly skies has always been a priority, but after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks there was a need for a higher level of security.

Big changes were taking place at airports across the nation, including baggage and passenger screenings.

Colorado Springs Airport officials said prior to 9/11, airlines were responsible for screening passengers, but that changed after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was established.

Over the past few years, TSA has had a long list of security requirements, including no liquids more than three ounces, no nail clippers, or scissors.  And it's a list that's constantly evolving.

"Taking shoes off was an adjustment made well after 9/11, after there was an attempt to put a shoe bomb on an aircraft," Mark Earle, Aviation Director of Colorado Springs Airport, said.

A lot of the stringent guidelines have to do with attacks and attempts to injure passengers. The original restrictions on nail clippers and files was in response to box cutters playing a big role in the 9/11 attacks, while security pat-downs are a response to the underwear bomber.

While it's fun to reminisce about the "good ol' days," TSA and airport security are part of a post 9/11 world where security policies are necessary.