Q & A: Travelers' experience at airport security lines

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

Many airline passengers will be experiencing new body scanners and pat-down procedures at airports for the first time this weekend. Here are answers to some important questions.

Q: Will I see a full-body scanner at an airport?

A: Maybe. There are 385 machines at 68 airports, mostly large and midsize airports. The machines are not at each checkpoint.

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Q: What happens if I go through a scanner?

A: First, empty your pockets of everything — not just metal objects — and remove bulky jewelry and belts. The machines expose any object on your body regardless of its composition.

Next, stand still with your arms raised for several seconds while the machine develops an image of you as you appear underneath your clothing.

Q: Who sees the image?

A: An airport screener in a closed room near the checkpoint studies the image on a monitor to look for objects on your body that could be a weapon. If nothing appears, screening is done.

A screener seeing a suspicious object will talk by radio to a fellow screener at the checkpoint, who may ask if you're wearing anything under your clothes or have something in a pocket. The checkpoint screener also may search you by hand.

Q: How graphic are the images?

A: The images clearly show all parts of a person's anatomy, but they are black and white and look like film negatives or X-rays. In some images, faces are blurred. The Transportation Security Administration says the images cannot be printed and are automatically deleted once screening is done.

Q: What if I don't want to go through a body scanner?

A: Every passenger may elect not to be screened by a body scanner. Those passengers will undergo a pat-down by a screener of the same gender, which may be done in private. During the pat-down, a screener will touch you around your groin and chest to search for hidden weapons.

The pat-downs are "invasive" and "not comfortable," TSA Administrator John Pistole says.

Q: Who else gets a pat-down?

A: Passengers are patted down if they trigger an alarm in either a metal detector or a body scanner. Passengers also may be selected at random for a pat-down.

Q: What about children?

A: Children age 12 and younger receive a "modified" pat-down that is less intrusive.

Q: Are all scanners the same?

A: There are two types of machines. One, called "millimeter wave," bounces harmless electromagnetic waves off your body to create an image. The other machine, called "backscatter," emits X-rays that reflect off your skin to create an image.

Q: Are the machines safe?

A: Millimeter-wave machines are entirely safe. Backscatter machines, which emit low levels of radiation, have been studied and declared safe by groups including the Food and Drug Administration, the American College of Radiology and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The FDA says backscatter machines emit less radiation in each scan than a passenger receives during two minutes of a flight.

Q: Why are the scanners being used?

A: Federal investigators have warned for at least five years that metal detectors cannot pick up explosives made of plastic, liquid or powder, which terrorists have tried to bring onto airplanes. The scanners can find those materials if they're hidden on someone's body. Security experts note that the scanners cannot find weapons hidden in body cavities.

Q: Will more airports be getting scanners?

A: Yes. The TSA says it plans to have 500 machines installed by the end of 2010 and 1,000 machines installed by the end of 2011. There are 2,200 checkpoint lanes in the USA's 450 commercial airports.

Q: Can the scanners be improved?

A: Manufacturers are working on software that will enable the machines to automatically detect a suspicious object on a passenger and generate an alarm, instead of requiring screeners to study the images. The software also will transform images into cartoon-like figures. The TSA does not know when the software will be ready.

Q: Why has there been so much controversy lately about airport screening?

A: Privacy advocates have been concerned for years that the machines are a "virtual strip-search." Some passengers became vocal in recent weeks after the TSA began its new, invasive pat-down procedure. Members of Congress from both parties have asked the TSA to reconsider the pat-downs, but the TSA has said no procedures will change immediately.

Q: Do the machines back up lines at security checkpoints?

A: The TSA says no but has not released any information. The Airports Council International, an airport trade group, says the scanners do not appear to be causing problems because metal detectors are positioned next to the scanners to act as a relief valve.

The scanning process can take up to a minute because passengers must remove all objects, stand in a precise position, hold the pose for several seconds and be cleared by a screener studying the image. Not every passenger goes through a scanner at checkpoints that have them.

Q: Will security lines be longer this weekend?

A: Thanksgiving is a busy travel time, so lines will be longer. Some individuals are calling for passengers to protest the scanners by choosing not to go through them. A large number of people opting for pat-downs could make lines even longer, but the airports council and security experts say they doubt many people will "opt out" of the scanners because they want to get to their flights.

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