Passengers: take off those shoes…maybe…someday
Some good news for airline passengers sick of security:
- Children under 12 may soon be spared pat-downs and taking off their shoes as the US begins to implement new airport security screening procedures, according to the TSA.
- A top Obama administration official says that travellers will be able to move through airport security in America without taking off their shoes. But there’s no date set.
"We are moving towards an intelligence and risk-based approach to how we screen," Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security, told reporter Mike Alleen. "I think one of the first things you will see over time is the ability to keep your shoes on. One of the last things you will [see] is the reduction or limitation on liquids."
No technology meets government standards to screen shoes for explosives at airports while passengers wear them, according to NPR, which adds:
Officials have not been able to say for certain that this technology will exist in the future, though they are working to develop it.
As for the children:
"We have been piloting also programs to deal with children under the age of 12 with respect to not only taking off their shoes but also pat-down procedures," Napolitano told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
"And we hope, over the coming weeks and months to be able to begin rolling that out." She added.
More than 52,000 TSA personnel serve at over 450 US airports. Thousands of these TSA officers will require additional training to incorporate the shifts in strategy, Napolitano said.
By David Wilkening
David
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