Some airline passengers still don't like new body scanners - WDRB

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Some airline passengers still don't like new body scanners - WDRB

LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- As WDRB told you last week, passengers flying out of Louisville International Airport will soon have to go through body scanners at the security checkpoint.

But some passengers say the devices are an invasion of privacy even though the TSA has redesigned the machines for that reason. 

Not everybody feels that way -- passenger Casey Nelson tells WDRB News, "It makes us safe in the long run.  It's not a big deal."

If you are a frequent flier, chances are you're already familiar with the airport body scanners.  The first of two machines has arrived at Louisville International.

But do the body scanners go too far?  Passenger Joy Owens says, "I don't like it, but you know, if you're going to fly you have to do it.  I just try not to think about it and go through it and get it over with."

The machines became the subject of a heated national debate when they first started arriving in airports in 2010.  Some passengers cried foul because the detailed specific images were being screened by agents in a separate room.  But over the past two years the Transportation Security Administration has made significant changes.

Jim Fotenos, TSA Public Affairs Manager, explains, "Now with this software, everyone appears the same.  It's a generic image and any anomalies found are displayed right here at the checkpoint and the passenger can look right over their shoulder and see it."

He continued:  "As we said, this model is designed to be a lot less invasive than previous models, so once I get scanned I come out here and I can see the exact image that was taken of my body and here on the highlighted areas it shows the cell phone and microphone I have in my pocket."

The body scanners cost between $120,000 and $180,000 each


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