Monday, March 14, 2016

TSA Makes Changes to Airport Security Screening Policy

As of December 18, 2015, a pat down option will no longer be available to some passengers at US airports that have full-body scanners. The TSA hasn't defined which passengers will not be eligible for a pat down -- at the discretion of the TSA agents -- but for some passengers using the scanner will be "mandatory."

Full body scanners have been in use since 2007. Many people have not been happy with these scanners which display an image of the passenger's body under his clothing, despite TSA assurance that the images are not visible to the public and that the viewer cannot see the image and the person being scanned. Up until December 18, a passenger had the option of asking for a full body pat down in a private area.

Full-body scanners being used today no longer display graphic images of a passenger's body. Instead, the display shows a generic body, with the general location of hidden items highlighted. While a passenger can still request the pat-down, there is the possibility now that the request will be denied.

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