As much as families love taking advantage of cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms or cheap vacation packages, some parents, particularly those with young children, are concerned about their children having to go through airport security checkpoints.
Homeland Security has announced that revised airport security procedures will be rolled out this fall for children under the age of 12 including a different pat-down policy and no longer requiring them to take their shoes off while going through security checkpoints.
Some parents as well as privacy advocates have complained in the past that children who do not appear to be terrorist threats have been subjected to intimate pat downs at airport check points.
In June airport security agents were told by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to make repeated attempts to screen young children without using invasive pat-downs.
Recent airport security stories involving young children being exposed to extreme security measures that made little sense have resulted in public outrage:
In April a video was released of a six year old girl receiving a pat-down at the New Orleans airport. TSA justified the action saying that because the girl moved during electronic screening only a blurry image could be viewed.
In May a picture was released showing a baby being patted down at Kansas City International Airport. Possible traces of explosives on the babys stroller set off an alert warranting, according to TSA, a closer look at the baby being held by the mother.
Unfortunately children will continue to need be scrutinized at airport checkpoints given that terrorists in other countries have used children as young as 10 years old as suicide bombers. www.cheapfares.com