How Airport Body Scanning Has Impacted The Travel Industry

Airport body scanning has been confirmed to be currently in use in most airports across the United States, including all of the largest ones. This new technology has impacted the travel industry as a whole in ways that might surprise you, and questions are being raised on their effects on health, privacy and time management.

Airport scanning has prompted inquiries into the safety of this equipment. Surprisingly, it is the employees of the travel industry that are asking these sorts of questions. Pilots recognize that they are already in a higher risk field because of the health dangers that come with the prolonged exposure to cosmic ionizing rays during flight. Because of this awareness, pilots are more acute to other possible radiation sources, such as airport scanning devices. There have also been voices in the field of radiation cautioning that there may be more dangers in these devices than currently understood. Because of this wariness, people have been opting out of the airport scanning and submitting to physical body searches or finding alternative modes of transportation.

Another major concern of those in the travel industry is privacy. The Transportation Security Administration has publicly admitted that airport scanning machines possess the capability to store, print, and export the images they collect. Because of concerns of this nature, individuals have been inquiring into their rights to privacy as law abiding citizens.

In addition to the privacy and health concerns, airport scanning has also caused a major inconvenience to time spent in airport security lines. Travelers must wait in line to go through a full body image scan or a physical pat down body search. Besides being intrusive, these procedures take time to perform. Some travelers have taken to calling ahead to airports to see when and if the airport screening is in effect so they can plan accordingly. This has impacted the travelers because of the extra time and employees needed to implement these requirements.

Airport body scanning has affected the travel industry as a whole in terms of concerns about health, privacy, and efficiency of time. People who fund the travel industry and work within it are asking questions about the effectiveness of airport scanning. It is definitely an area that has caused controversy, and it’s future ability to impact the mode of transportation favored by travelers is unknown.