AVIATION SECURITY FARCE

Edinburgh Airport passengers
to be body scanned

Body scanning of some passengers is being introduced at Scotland's
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 . . . 

The Asker Trilogy

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.