It’s easy to empathize with airline pilots who are balking at airport security rules that require full body scans or invasive body pat- downs. Who among us relishes such an intrusion?
But pilots know better than most just how important it is for security measures to keep up with the newest plots that terrorists are hatching to wreak havoc on the world.
We all know the drill: Take off your shoes, severely limit the liquid you carry on a plane and now submit to a scan or search that leaves little modesty intact. These are intrusive measures and we hope they’re not forever a part of our travel routine. But unfortunately, for now, times like these require such drastic steps and pilots ought to go through screenings, just like the rest of us.
We are not persuaded by the argument that pilots don’t need explosives to cause a disaster because they could simply fly a plane into the ground. They’d have to fight a co- pilot to do so, and skipping screenings would leave them more capable of carrying deadly devices or substances that a co-pilot might not have a chance of combating.
Ideally, better technology will end these security nuisances.
Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, recently visited with The Post’s editorial board and told us she knows full well the irritation experienced by air travelers who have grown weary of the battery of security measures.
She said technologies are being developed — but have yet to be perfected — that would enable travelers to go through security with shoes on while carrying greater amounts of liquid than currently allowed.
Such advances would be a relief.
Technology is a vital part of fighting terrorism. A recently deployed tool — the one causing the controversy — is called Advanced Imaging Technology, or AIT. It’s the most effective technology the government has for detecting small, dangerous items, such as explosives, that could be concealed on passengers’ bodies.
These scanners deliver a very low dose of radiation to the person being screened. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an advisory saying the amount of radiation is so low, there is no need to limit the number of screenings a person can undergo in a year.
The Transportation Security Administration has deployed more than 300 AIT machines at 65 airports nationwide. The goal is to have 1,000 of them in operation by the end of 2011. A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted earlier this year found 78 percent of respondents said they approved of using the machines.
However, since then fears have been stoked by scientists who have raised questions about radiation exposure, saying people have different sensitivities, especially children and developing embryos.
These are legitimate questions that the Obama administration needs to address quickly and fully while working to end these tedious measures.
