More people can be expected to take advantage of cheap airplane tickets, cheap vacation packages and discount hotel rooms if their security concerns are addressed. The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has announced that soon their personnel will move through airports randomly swabbing passengers hands looking for traces of explosives.
TSA employees will push carts carrying microwave oven size bomb detection machines between airport gates and security checkpoints.
In the past screeners at checkpoints selectively swabbed carry-on bags and other objects trying to find anything that indicated explosives.
TSA believes that testing passengers randomly for explosives as they wait to board airplanes or in checkpoint security lines will increase terrorists uncertainty.
Security experts like this new TSA directive because security personnel are more likely to find traces of explosive materials by swabbing peoples hands than swabbing bags.
New portable machines are making it easier to conduct tests away from fixed locations such as checkpoints. TSA has in excess of 7,000 ETD (explosive trace detection) machines in place and has purchased an additional 400 units. The 2011 budget includes the purchase of an additional 800 ETD machines that are even more portable than the current units. They will be the size of briefcases.
The random swabbing of passengers hands at checkpoints is not expected to meaningfully add to delays at airport checkpoints, according to Homeland Security.
The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is supportive of this new testing policy since they do not see it as invading travelers privacy. Their only concern is that the TSA does not discriminate when selecting travelers for additional screening and that these tests are not used to identify non-security related contraband, such as drugs.
TSA has said that the machines will only test for explosives.