Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Lines Grow as Airport Security Tightens

Airport security lines may be longer than those at Georgetown Cupcake’s this fall as the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security add new security measures to already tight holiday season regulations.

Dulles International Airport in Virginia installed full-body image scanners as an additional security measure earlier this month. Reagan National Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport have had the scanners since January. Anyone who declines the scan is subject to a thorough pat-down inspection.

“TSA is trying to address a real, credible threat, both through the advanced imaging technology and through the pat-downs,” Debby McElroy, executive vice president of the Airports Council International-North America told The Washington Post on Nov. 15. “We think it’s important that they continue to address it with passengers and the media because there continues to be a significant misunderstanding about both the safety and the privacy concerns.”

The scanners have been criticized as a “virtual strip search,” as they outline the contours of the body using electromagnetic rays. Faces, however, are not shown in the images produced on the computers, which are operated by TSA officials in removed rooms. The scanning process takes 30 seconds.

“Federal officials estimate that less than 1 percent of fliers decline the scan,” The Washington Post wrote, noting that the alternative pat-down procedure has also intensified for the holiday season. The areas of the body checked remain the same, but TSA security officers now use a sliding hand motion, in lieu of a light touch.

“There’s nothing punitive about it – it just makes good security sense,” the TSA blog stated. “The weapons and other dangerous and prohibited items we’ve found during the pat downs speak to this.”

The heightened security measures have received criticism from a vocal segment of the public and a variety of interest groups, including the Business Travel Coalition, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Air Line Pilots Association. The TSA stressed the importance of the safety measures, however.

“It is irresponsible for a group to suggest travelers opt out of the very screening that could prevent an attack using non-metallic explosive,” TSA Administrator John Pistole said to The Washington Post. “This technology is not only safe, it’s vital to aviation security and a critical measure to thwart potential terrorist attacks.”

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