This image of an adult man was taken using a Rapiscan Secure 1000 backscatter X-ray scanner
(Credit: John Wild (johnwild.info))Q: What should I expect if I'm flying over the holidays?
A: It depends on what airports you'll be visiting. Not all have the whole-body scanners. Thanks to the federal stimulus legislation, however, TSA has been able to buy nearly 400 of the units and install them in approximately 70 airports around the country. But because there are around 2,100 security checkpoints in total, that means 80 percent of them--by number, not by passenger volume--won't have them.
A: It depends on what airports you'll be visiting. Not all have the whole-body scanners. Thanks to the federal stimulus legislation, however, TSA has been able to buy nearly 400 of the units and install them in approximately 70 airports around the country. But because there are around 2,100 security checkpoints in total, that means 80 percent of them--by number, not by passenger volume--won't have them.
Another twist: CNET is hearing that even airports like Washington Dulles and San Diego, which already rolled out the full-body scanners, are not using them consistently. TSA appears to be permitting its airport supervisors to switch back to metal detectors, especially during high-traffic times. TSA generally refuses to discuss specifics, saying its procedures are "designed to be unpredictable."
Which airports use the "naked" scanners?
Here's a list as of last week, though it may be incomplete or the scanners may not be in use. Airports on the list include ones in Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Oakland, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Here's a list as of last week, though it may be incomplete or the scanners may not be in use. Airports on the list include ones in Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Oakland, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
What are the new procedures?
TSA announced them in a laconic one-paragraph note on October 28, telling travelers to expect "new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide" but lacking specifics. What TSA delicately calls "enhanced pat downs" means screeners will conduct a thorough frisking with their fingers and fronts of their hands, which can include touching genitals through clothing.
TSA announced them in a laconic one-paragraph note on October 28, telling travelers to expect "new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide" but lacking specifics. What TSA delicately calls "enhanced pat downs" means screeners will conduct a thorough frisking with their fingers and fronts of their hands, which can include touching genitals through clothing.
What might cause me to get an "enhanced pat down?"
You can expect to receive this intrusive, police-style frisking in two circumstances: if you opt-out of the full body scanners that can produce a near-naked image, or if the operator of a scanner or metal detector detects anything anomalous. That means if you're trying to avoid the pat down by going through the body scanner, and you forgot to take even something innocuous out of your pockets that shows up on the monitors, you might get both.
You can expect to receive this intrusive, police-style frisking in two circumstances: if you opt-out of the full body scanners that can produce a near-naked image, or if the operator of a scanner or metal detector detects anything anomalous. That means if you're trying to avoid the pat down by going through the body scanner, and you forgot to take even something innocuous out of your pockets that shows up on the monitors, you might get both.
How are the pat downs performed?
TSA says: "Pat downs are performed by same-gender officers and all passengers have the right to a private screening with a travel companion at any time." In addition, children who are 12 years old or younger "who require extra screening will receive a modified pat down," the agency says, without elaboration. "Each security officer is held to the highest level of professionalism," TSA chief John Pistole told our colleagues at CBS News this week. "And our goal is to treat each and every passenger with dignity and respect."
TSA says: "Pat downs are performed by same-gender officers and all passengers have the right to a private screening with a travel companion at any time." In addition, children who are 12 years old or younger "who require extra screening will receive a modified pat down," the agency says, without elaboration. "Each security officer is held to the highest level of professionalism," TSA chief John Pistole told our colleagues at CBS News this week. "And our goal is to treat each and every passenger with dignity and respect."
That's the theory and the official line. Reality sometimes falls short, as we've seen in cases where a Michigan cancer survivor was left covered with urine after an aggressive pat down, a screaming 3-year-old was being treated none too gently by an airport screener, and a blogger described how she was "sexually assaulted" after an unexpectedly intimate vaginal screening.
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