After the initial iteration of airport body-scan gear drew fire from civil libertarians, designers say they tweaked the system, rendering it less personally invasive. Now the Transportation Security Administration is testing the refined gear at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The airport is a major hub for both US Airways, and discount airline Southwest.
The set-up is called SmartCheck, and its manufacturer, American Science and Engineering, says it screens “for a wide variety of threats concealed on a passenger”. It renders an image that looks like a “chalk outline of the passenger, with threats and contraband outlined”. It doesn’t reveal facial features. That’s good, because it does reveal other aspects of a flier’s anatomy.
Not everybody will be subject to SmartCheck. First, it’s a secondary screening apparatus. Moreover, it’s voluntary. If you’re selected for secondary screening, you can opt for a pat down.
The image that the system produces won’t be out there for all to see; it’s sequestered and, says AS&E “images are automatically deleted from the system immediately after they are stored”.
As for health risks, the manufacturer maintains the radiation dose is equivalent to that from two minutes of airplane flight, at cruise altitude.
It will be instructive to see how the Sky Harbor tests work out, both from security and privacy perspectives.
© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler
