Edinburgh Airport passengers
to be body scanned
to be body scanned
Body scanning of some passengers is being introduced at Scotland's
busiest airport as part of its security checks.
busiest airport as part of its security checks.
When passengers are scanned security officers will see a manequin-style diagram on a small screen |
Edinburgh Airport
bosses said the measure was being implemented from 1 September, following
direction from the UK government.
The technology works
by detecting concealed threats or contraband.
It will alert security
staff through an image which appears as a mannequin-style diagram on a small
screen attached to the machine.
All images taken are
deleted as soon as they have been assessed.
Passengers will be
chosen at random or if an extra security concern is raised, such as activating
the metal detector.
Continued below . . .
Continued below . . .
It will be mandatory for selected passengers to undergo the scan and those who refuse will not be able to board their flight.
A member of airport
staff will be present throughout the process, which will take place within the
security search area.
Gordon Dewar, chief
executive of the airport, said the scanner was a "great enhancement"
to its security procedures.
"The scan is
quick, simple and safe for everyone and does not compromise individual's
privacy as the image taken is deleted straight after it is assessed," he
said.
"Passengers asked
to undergo the scan must comply with the rules as stated by the Department for
Transport."
Airport bosses said
the scanning takes a few seconds and would not impact on the processing of
passengers.
The UK government held
a review of aviation security in response to the attempted attack on Northwest
Airlines flight 253 to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.
A package of
additional measures to enhance security was announced, including the use of
body scanners. They were introduced in February 2010 at Heathrow and Manchester
airports, with the intention to roll out the process nationally.
More on BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Peter’s
Point of View
There is no safer way to travel than with an airline
and it has been that way for at least half a century and not just since the increased
security after 911.
The increase in aviation security has made no
difference to air safety. None at all. The politicians know that, but most
politicians are only interested in reality when it doesn’t stand in the way of
good old vote-getting hysteria.
If the increase in aviation security had been matched
by a further increase in the safety of flying, then surely the politicians
would now be legislating to widen the security net to include all others forms of
transport.
Taxis, buses, trucks, trains and private vehicles are
all manifestly less safe, from a security point of view, than flying.
Terrorists use taxis, buses, trucks, vans, trains and private cars much more
frequently than aircraft. They always have done and they always will.
In fact more bombs are exploded in surface vehicles
each year than the total for the whole of aviation history. Aviation security
has become a farce.
Meanwhile we will not be safe on the ground until we
have to go through security to board a bus or taxi, drive a truck or van, take
a ride on a cycle, walk on a sidewalk, enter a shop, have lunch in a park, sail
a boat, send mail, cook a meal, look at a stranger or get out of bed in the
morning. Does that sound ridiculous? It certainly does, but it just goes to prove how ridiculous aviation security has become.
But politicians everywhere, if they genuinely believe in what they are doing and to be consistent, should be
spreading the security net with all possible haste to include all of the above transport
modes worldwide. And to make absolutely certain that the terrorists are stymied,
we should take a lesson from 911, and all forms of ground transport and every
kind a ground service and facility should be immediately grounded until
everyone can comply, if the politicians genuinely believe.
Personally, I’d rather forget the farce and just get on
with life. I think Harold MacMillan was right when he said, “The people have
never had it so good.” Unfortunately for MacMillan, the British public, typically, didn't want good news and so they dumped him.