U.S. Travel Calls for Enhanced Airport Security Techniques

In the wake of the attempted terrorism attack aboard a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day and President Obama’s call for enhanced screening of airline passengers, the U.S. Travel Association is urging policymakers to embrace screening techniques that meet a three-part test: strengthen security, balance travelers’ privacy needs and improve traveler facilitation.

U.S. Travel highlighted “whole body imaging” (WBI) and increased use of canine security as examples of promising security measures in need of greater analysis, noting that WBI has received significant attention with regard to privacy, but significantly less focus has been paid to its security benefits, affect on wait times and any potential of reducing travelers’ hassles at security checkpoints.