Had the Boston explosions happened a few years ago, the buzz would soon be about the color orange. As in “Code Orange” — the government’s way of indicating a high risk of terrorist attacks under the oft-maligned color-coded Department of Homeland Security terror alert system.

Today, the color chart is history, replaced in 2011 by the National Terrorism Advisory System.

So what should travelers know about the state of airport and mass transit security in the wake of the blasts?

No national alerts have been issued, according to the DHS website. In fact, the agency has never issued an alert under the system, which requires the government to send out “formal, detailed alerts” when it receives information about a specific or credible terrorist threat.

The agency did not respond to an on-the-record request for comment about the process, but in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said there is nothing to suggest at this point that the events in Boston are indicative of a broader plot.

“Out of an abundance of caution, DHS continues to keep in place enhanced security measures at transportation hubs, utilizing measures both seen and unseen,” Napolitano said.

She urged the public to remain vigilant and immediately report any signs of suspicious activity. 

“It is notable that they have not used the (NTAS) system to date,” said Christian Beckner, deputy director of the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute.

“The original color coded Homeland Security Advisory System was so broad that it didn’t lead to effective reactions. This more targeted approach is the right one.”

After the deadly Boston blasts, a number of airports are either beefing up police presence or operating under a “heightened state of alert,” including the three major New York-area airports and Los Angeles International. Airlines are extra vigilant, too, and not taking any chances with suspicious items. On Tuesday, a US Airways flight was remotely parked at Boston Logan International “out of an abundance of caution” so that a bag on board could be examined. The baggage was deemed harmless and the flight taxied to the gate. Airport operations were not impacted.

Related: Reports of suspicious activity spur travel headaches

Regardless of whether or not the government issues a national terror alert, TSA can independently send a security notice to the airlines and recommend additional security measures at airports, Beckner told NBC News.

“That’s more precautionary, not necessarily tied to any specific thing,” he said.

The TSA declined to comment about how the Boston explosions are affecting airport checkpoints, referring all questions to the Department of Homeland Security.

If the government issues an alert under NTAS, it will specify whether there is an “imminent threat” or “elevated threat.” The alert will also explain the potential danger, outline what actions are being taken to keep the public safe, and recommend steps that you can take to protect yourself.

“It’s a vast improvement over the last system,” said Rick Nelson, a senior associate of the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“I don’t think anybody misses the color coded system except for the late night comedians.”

Each threat alert will have an expiration date so the public doesn’t have to deal with an elevated threat level for an unending period of time, Nelson said. That’s quite a contrast from the previous approach, implemented soon after the 9/11 attacks. Road warriors may remember that the threat level in airports remained at orange for years under the color-coded system.

“It wasn’t really based any credible threat and it really didn’t tell people what to do,” Nelson said. “If I told you the threat level was now red, what did that mean to you as a citizen and what should you do differently? That was always very unclear.”

The Transportation Security Administration on Friday proposed firing 25 employees at Newark Liberty International Airport and suspending 19 others as a result of an investigation into improper screening of checked luggage.

The alleged screening failures at one of the New York area's three major airports were uncovered late last year after surveillance cameras were installed in one of its 25 screening rooms to check for possible thefts, the TSA said.

Eight employees were fired in June in the investigation. The latest action raises to 52 the number of TSA employees at Newark caught up in the investigation, making it the biggest single disciplinary action taken by the TSA at a U.S. airport.

The latest group cited includes screeners, as well as managers accused of failing to effectively supervise their employees.

Related: Baggage handler at JFK gets life in prison for smuggling drugs

All the screeners cited for failing to follow procedures were removed from their jobs in November and December and given non-screening duties pending completion of the investigation, the TSA said.

The TSA, which has more than 1,400 employees at Newark, said the screeners failed to ensure bags were properly screened before flights departed, but it did not provide more detail.

"The decision to take disciplinary actions today with the proposed removal of 25 individuals and suspension of 19 others reaffirms our strong commitment to ensure the safety of the traveling public and to hold all our employees to the highest standards of conduct and accountability," said Lisa Farbstein, a TSA spokeswoman.

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The theft investigation, which the TSA said was the reason the cameras were installed, did not lead to any charges. The TSA said an employee who was a suspect in that probe ended up resigning, though the cameras were left in place, turning up the screening lapses.

The previous biggest disciplinary action taken by the TSA was last year at Honolulu International Airport, where 48 employees were proposed for firing or suspension, also for failing to properly screen luggage.

All 44 employees cited Friday have the right to appeal. The proposed suspensions would be for up to 14 days, and without pay.

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Staff Sgt. Guillermo Tejada lost both legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2010. Now rehabilitating in San Diego, Tejada travels regularly to compete in hand-cycling races and marathons.

When flying out of San Diego International Airport, Tejada receives the royal treatment. "They're waiting for us at the curb and take us through the whole process of checking in and going through security," he told msnbc.com. 

Getting through airport security can be stressful on anyone. For wounded military service members, it can be a nightmare.  

The Transportation Security Administration recently expanded a program to make the checkpoint experience for wounded warriors as simple as possible.

“Depending on the airport, the assistance provided can be meeting the passenger curbside when they get to the airport, assisting with checking of bags, getting boarding passes, and assisting through screening,” said TSA spokesperson Nico Melendez.

TSA’s Wounded Warrior Accommodations program is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While TSA doesn’t directly provide all the services Melendez listed, it will — if alerted — coordinate a wounded warrior’s airport experience with airport staff, USO volunteers and airlines.

Many of the severely injured service members are traveling to or from hospitals and military bases, but many are going home, to a new duty station or on vacation.

The program has been active at a few airports for several years, serving more than 5,000 wounded military personnel traveling through Washington’s Reagan National Airport since 2010, Melendez said. In the past year, 1,500 people have been assisted at San Diego International Airport, according to Cheryl Paine, the TSA official who coordinates the program there.

Pre-check and other expedited, risk-based screening programs for people 75 and older and for those age 12 and under are now in place at most airports, so Melendez said it’s  possible to offer the wounded warrior program nationwide. “If we know who they are and know they are coming through, we can expand the pre-check program and tailor it to their limitations and needs,” he said.

“After a decade of war we have more and more wounded warriors going through airports," he said. "If they don’t know these tools are available it won’t do them any good.”

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A pilot airport screening program designed to make the security line easier for elderly fliers is going national.

Since March, TSA workers at airports in Chicago, Denver, Orlando and Portland, Ore., have been testing modified screening practices for passengers 75 and over. Elderly travelers at select checkpoints were allowed to keep shoes and light outerwear on during screening and could take a second pass through full-body scanners to clear anomalies. The measures mirror those instituted nationwide last summer for children 12 and under.

TSA on Friday announced an end to the pilot program and said it will roll out the rules at all U.S. airports throughout the summer. A specific implementation timetable was not released.

The changes will reduce, but not eliminate, enhanced pat-downs for the elderly, TSA said in a statement. Travelers will be asked to remove shoes and undergo a pat-down “if anomalies are detected during security screening that cannot be resolved through other means.”

In December, TSA was under fire after security incidents involving elderly passengers.

In one, 85-year-old Lenore Zimmerman said she was injured and humiliated during a strip search at JFK Airport. Days later, 88-year-old Ruth Sherman said she was forced to pull down her pants and show her colostomy bag during a search.

TSA later apologized for the way the searches were handled.

In the past year, TSA has implemented and enhanced other initiatives designed to ease screening requirements and concerns, including PreCheck, an expedited screening program it continues to roll out at dozens of airports, and TSA Cares, a helpline for travelers with disabilities and medical conditions.

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Nearly five years after the 9/11 Commission Act recommended that 100 percent of cargo aboard passenger planes be screened, The Transportation Security Administration has announced a deadline to meet the requirement.

TSA on Wednesday set Dec. 3, 2012, as the mark for carriers to conduct full cargo screening on international flights bound for the United States. As of that date, all cargo on international flights must undergo screening for explosives, TSA said in a press release.

The system adds additional “risk-based, intelligence-driven procedures,” before items are shipped and “enhanced screening” for shipments designated at a higher risk, TSA said.

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“Harmonizing security efforts with our international and industry partners is a vital step in securing the global supply chain,” TSA Administrator John S. Pistole said in a news release announcing the deadline. “By making greater use of intelligence, TSA can strengthen screening processes and ensure the screening of all cargo shipments without impeding the flow of commerce.”

Air carriers often transport commercial items in their jets' cargo holds. On larger planes, numerous containers sealed by the shipper -- roughly the size of a Volkswagen beetle -- fill up the space.

Douglas R. Laird, president of Laird & Associates, Inc., an aviation security consulting firm, says just because 100 percent of cargo is screened doesn’t mean that nothing could slip through detection.

“That sounds good on its face, but there really is no good technology to fully screen some of the larger cargo, like containers,” Laird told msnbc.com, noting that the newest computerized machines are good at sniffing out potential explosives in suitcases and packages, but aren't useful on such cargo as containers and and other big items like high-end cars that end up on airplanes.  

Risk-based intelligence, he explained, is essentially profiling the shipper to determine whether that company or individual poses a potential risk. A terrorist, however, could try to target a shipping company by getting a job there.

“Everyone want’s 100 percent, but the only problem is there is no such thing as 100 percent,” he said.

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Who knew a baby could cause such a fuss at the airport?

A baby who hadn’t been properly screened prompted authorities to shut down a section of a terminal at Newark Liberty International Airport for more than an hour Friday, Transportation Security Administration officials said. The “security breech” led to an evacuation of part of the terminal, flight delays and inconveniences for hundreds of passengers.

The incident happened around 1:15 p.m. at a checkpoint leading to some gates at Terminal C.

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said a mother and baby went through a metal detector when the machine sounded an alarm, according to The Associated Press. The mother handed the child to the father, who had already been screened. The mother was cleared, but the baby hadn't been properly screened. The parents and baby left the checkpoint and headed to their gate, Farbstein told the AP.

A short time later, TSA workers realized the baby had not been checked. They began searching for the family in the terminal and notified Port Authority police as per protocol, but they emphasized that it was a low-risk situation, Farbstein said.

A TSA official said the agency recommended against evacuating the terminal because of the low risk, but Port Authority police did so anyway. "Port Authority police unilaterally made the decision to evacuate the terminal, sweep the terminal for explosives and re-screen all of the passengers, inconveniencing hundreds of passengers and delaying numerous flights," the official, who was not authorized to discuss the issue by name because of its delicacy, told nj.com.

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Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesman, said that it took the TSA more than 30 minutes to notify police of the lapse. He said officers "took immediate action to make sure the breach did not endanger passengers or our facility," AP reported.

"We're not going to second-guess a real-time decision made by our police department to err on the side of caution and protect passenger safety," he said.

The search for the family was called off and the area was reopened at 2:50 p.m.

Passengers who went through the security checkpoint had to be screened again.

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A pair of South Florida TSA agents face criminal charges after police say they went on a drunken rampage inside a Miami Beach hotel room, throwing furniture out a window and wildly firing a gun, NBCMiami.com reported.

Jeffrey Piccolella, 27, and Nicholas Puccio, 25, are both charged with criminal mischief and using a firearm under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the Tuesday night incident at the Shelby Hotel, according to a Miami Beach police report obtained by NBCMiami.com.

Officers called to the hotel around 11 p.m. after reports of a gun being discharged from a second-floor room took the two agents into custody without incident, the report said. Each had a strong breath odor of alcohol and bloodshot and watery eyes, the report said.

See the original story, video at NBCMiami.com

On the ground outside the hotel room, officers found a radio, speakers, two lamps, a phone, an ice chest, a shattered vase and a bullet casing, the report said.

Piccolella admitted that the pair had returned to the room after having several drinks and started throwing the items out the window, the report said.

Piccolella said he had fired the gun out the window once, handed it to Puccio, who also fired once, and then got the gun back and fired three more times, according to the report.

One bullet struck a $1,500 hurricane-proof window at the Barneys New York at 832 Collins Ave., the report said. The hotel items were worth $400, it said.

Puccio denied any involvement in the incident, the report said.

The Transportation Safety Administration said both are part-time employees at Palm Beach International Airport and were not traveling on official business.

"TSA holds its employees to the highest professional and ethical standards. We will review the facts and take appropriate action as necessary," the TSA said in a statement obtained by NBCMiami.com.

Both Piccolella, of West Palm Beach, and Puccio, of Delray Beach, were being held on $5,500 bond, NBC Miami said.

Elvuyra Perez Gallego, visiting Miami from Spain for the first time, told NBCMiami.com she was scared when she came back to the hotel from a late night out and saw police blocking the street surrounding her hotel.

She said she has sat on the hotel patio many times this week to use her computer and socialize, and she doesn't like thinking about what could happen with a stray bullet.

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