A new era in travel security technology is being ushered in at Vancouver International Airport after the federal government yesterday announced full body scanners are being installed in airports across Canada.
Around 44 machines, which scan through clothing to produce a 3-D image of people’s bodies, will be installed in 11 airports from Vancouver to Halifax by spring, said Transportation Minister John Baird and Minister of State Rob Merrifield.
The machines allow a screening officer in another room to scan for weapons a metal detector may miss and will only be used for passengers singled out for secondary screening.
It’s a security measure some see as necessary after a Nigerian man carried explosives sewn into his underwear onto a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
The technology has stirred controversy because it produces a detailed outline of a person’s naked body, but the consensus at YVR yesterday was that it was an appropriate step in a world where terrorism continues to be a threat.
“Whatever keeps us safe,” said Henrietta Jonker, who was at YVR to catch a flight to Ontario. “Even if it were (mandatory) for everyone, I wouldn’t care.”
Jennifer Armstrong, who was on her way to Winnipeg, said it seemed like a small price to pay for safer air travel.
Trevor Cutts, who was at the airport to pick up his family from a holiday in Mexico, said it’s a “good idea” that should have been implemented last year to be up and running by the Olympics.
“I don’t mind showing my private parts for safety,” he said.
- Feds find last-minute fix for student loans
- Guatemala mudslides kill at least 38; 2 buses hit
- Despite formal combat end, US joins Baghdad battle
- New campaign tells people to ignore the door
- Remains found in Newfoundland identified
- Chile mine disaster exposes old family feuds
- Moldova holds referendum on electing president
- Congo: 70 dead, 200 missing in 2 boat capsizes
- Thousands still have no power in Earl's wake
- Mideast crisis looms over Israeli settlements
- Ten left homeless after N.S. duplex fire
- Eight injured when van rolls several times
- Human remains found near Orangeville, Ont.
x
Body scanners coming to Vancouver’s airport
Feds announce 44 machines to be installed across country
Elaine Thompson/The Canadian Press
A model demonstrates passenger use of an X-ray security scanner at Phoenix, Ariz.’s Sky Harbor International Airport in this file photo.
| F E A T U R E D S P O N S O R S |
Copyright 2001-2010, Free Daily News Group Inc.