Strip Search By X-Ray Machine

For many travellers the thought of going on an airplane makes them think of all the hassle of not just booking and paying for the right flights, but the problems that come with passing through the various airport controls.

For a number of years now passengers have had to go through the security sections facing being 'patted down' to see if they were carrying anything they ought not, such as guns, bombs, and knives.

Personally, I find it slightly undignified to have someone checking in the lower regions, but, unfortunately, it is one of those things that has to be lived with. While there are terrorists there have to be security systems put in place.

So, anything to cut out the physical searches has to be good, right? Well, that all depends on the alternatives.

One of those alternatives, an x-ray scanner for humans, has been trialled in a number of places around the world, from the United States to the other side of the world, Australia.

And now, In Manchester, England, one of these x-ray scanners has been set up at Manchester Airport, in Terminal 2.

How does it work? Well, it's a strip search, but without the stripping. A person goes into a booth and the operator sits behind a monitor in another room. Airport staff prefer to use the phrase 'imaging technology' rather than body scanner.

The passenger puts his hands on either side of his head as he is screened. The operator will then see him as in a naked state. This means that the operator will see each passenger's private parts, piercings, hip replacements, breast enlargements, as well as the real purpose behind the machines, if he is carrying any weapons.

The person sat behind the monitor can't see the persons face as it is just a ghost-like outline, and no record is kept such as a photograph of the passenger. Facial features and hair can`t be seen either, making it hard for anyone to recognise the person being scanned. If anything suspicious is seen, then the scanning operator will get security to check that person out more thoroughly.

The US already has these scanners in place, and a further 1,000 are being ordered for use across the country. At eighty thousand pounds per machine they aren't cheap, but if and when they become mandatory for all passengers to use they should speed up the process of passing through airport security.

As for its safety, it seems that the National Radiological Protection Board has passed it as safe. Over the years I've had lots of dental x-rays, and they claim that just one dental X-ray is said to be the radiological equivalent of 20,000 scans.

I reckon a lot of people won`t mind using these scanners, though some members of certain religious groups might object. It'll be interesting to see how the 12 month trial goes, but I would suggest it will be a success, with other airports around the UK putting in orders for many more machines.