Ira A. Lipman, who founded one of the first major private security companies and, long before 9/11, gave prescient advice on safeguarding airport passengers from terrorists, died on Sept. 16 in Manhattan. He was 78 .

The cause was complications of lymphoma, his son Gustave Lipman said.

As president and chairman of Guardsmark, Mr. Lipman commanded a security force that at its peak numbered more than 19,000 people and generated $500 million annually in revenue.

On an even broader scale, a decade or more before terrorists weaponized three commercial jets on Sept. 11, 2001, he pressed the federal government to do more to protect people at airports.

In congressional testimony and opinion articles, he was among the first security experts to urge that metal detectors be installed at every airport to screen passengers; that carry-on luggage be scrutinized fully; and that frequent fliers be given special identification cards to speed them through security checkpoints so guards could focus on more potentially problematic travelers.