Travel Tips
Travel Tip: Solution-Based Travel Security
Credit David Prasad
Americans have to keep asking the same question: Are we any safer today than we were pre 9/11?
Most recently, the TSA has rejected four types of devices that would scan passengers’ shoes at checkpoints. The idea was to come up with technology that would detect explosives and metal weapons while passengers could keep their shoes on through security. But the TSA has said that the devices they tested didn’t qualify.
They have, however, loosened restrictions, so that passengers who qualify for PreCheck, and those who are older than 75 or younger than 12 can keep their shoes on. So in theory they’re trying to focus their attention on potential threats and not waste their time elsewhere.
There are talks now that suggest the TSA could streamline the process using iris scan technology to verify passenger identification. That’s already in place in parts of London’s Gatwick Airport, but has yet to be used in the U.S. So keep watching this space.
But for now, I can’t say we’re really any safer than we were 11 years ago. The good news, however, is they’re working toward solutions, instead of continuing the old tradition of strip-searching nuns to confiscate tweezers.
For more information, visit the Safety & Security archives.
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