There has been a lot of talk about using body scanners at airports since the terror scare on a Christmas Day flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. Now the union for airport police at LAX wants the federal government to use full-body scanners on every single airline passenger.
Los Angeles International Airport is one of 19 airports nationwide that have the scanning devices, but they are used only on selected passengers.
“Airport security checkpoints can no longer rely on metal detectors as the primary screening technology because al-Qaida operatives have turned to using devices with little or no metal,” said Marshall McClain, the head of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association.
The scanners are able to see through fabric and detect material hidden under clothes, and, in some cases, inside the body.
Airports have beefed up security since a passenger tried to detonate an explosive on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. Beginning Monday, passengers traveling to the U.S. from 14 countries are now subject to full body pat-downs and other measures.
“This incident is a solemn reminder of the need for proactive airport security at U.S. airports, especially at Los Angeles International Airport, long considered the state's top terrorist target,” McClain said.
