What's New in Les Arcs?

As of yesterday, 1st February, controversial new body scanners have been in place at Heathrow airport; any passengers refusing to be scanned risk being denied access to their flight. There has been much talk regarding privacy laws, prompting a leading association of airline pilots to call for a rethink of passenger screening, claiming that "passenger trustworthiness" should be prioritized ahead of intensive physical screening measures.

However, US and Canadian pilots' association ALPA has branded changes to the security system an "inadequate response"; claiming that today's security systems have been modified piecemeal since the 1970s in response to changing international threats, leaving the current system effectively a "patchwork of band-aids."

ALPA believes that a new information-gathering system, similar to a credit check carried out by a bank, would be effective in identifying passengers as "no or negligible threat," "unknown threat" or "known threat". Security checks could then be applied according, ranging from a quick x-ray/metal detector scan to an in-person threat-assessment or flight ban. Much of the work would be done before the passenger even arrives at the airport. This in itself has drawn criticism over the privacy implications of techniques such as terrorist watch lists and the use of racial profiling.

So, until these new measures have been decided on and put into place, passengers will have to submit to being scanned from top to toe before they board – I guess it’s one more reason to shape up in time for your holiday!

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Source: The Independant

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