WASHINGTON — After weeks of pressure from pilots unions over controversial new airport screening measures, the Transportation Security Administration has agreed to exempt pilots from enhanced pat-downs and full-body scans, pilot organizations said Friday.
Pilots flying for U.S. carriers and traveling in uniform will immediately start going through “expedited” screening after having two forms of identification checked against a secure database, TSA administrator John Pistole said in a statement.
Airline pilots complained when the agency would not exempt them from pat-downs seen as too intrusive and full-body scans that union leaders said would put pilots at risk for increased exposure to radiation.
“Allowing these uniformed pilots, whose identity has been verified, to go through expedited screening at the checkpoint just makes smart security and an efficient use of our resources,” Pistole said Friday. The changes do not affect policies for screening passengers.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, pilots organizations have been arguing that screening procedures for pilots, who are already vetted and provide for the safety of their passengers every time they take control of an airplane, should be focused on verifying their identity using biometric data such as retinal scans or fingerprints.
Talks between the airlines, TSA and pilots unions have been stalled for years on how such a secure identity system would be funded.
On Friday, TSA told the pilots unions that the administration would move forward with a long-term plan to use biometric screening for cockpit crew members, said captain Sam Mayer, communications chairman for the Allied Pilots Association.
TSA is facing lawsuits from pilots who believe the search methods are over the top.
