The new body scanners at airports across the country have won few fans—people haven’t exactly taken well to the thought of on-the-spot x-rays. Even worse, the scanners always seem to occasionally throw airport staff for a loop, forcing them to feel up on women, old people, and toddlers. And that never goes over very well.
Thus, the IATA (International Air Transport Association) has introduced the end-all, be-all of scanners at their annual conference in Singapore, dubbed “Checkpoint of the Future.” First using biometric iris and passport scanners, the checkpoint divides passengers into three lanes: high-risk flyers (read: terrorists), “normal” travelers, and “known travelers” (probably similar to the vague “Expert Travelers” lanes currently available).
Red flags spell a trip through the comprehensive “high-risk” tunnel for travelers with individual scan points for shoes, explosives, metal objects, etc. “Normal” and “known” travelers await a walkthrough with significantly less scan points.
IATA believes “Checkpoint of the Future” will make security clearing cheaper, faster, more efficient and more effective. Yet it will come at the expense of an increased invasion of privacy, as the government will need to store and share your personal information. As if that wouldn’t be the case.
[via Engadget]
