In Singapore on Tuesday, The International Air Transport Association released a mockup of its checkpoint of the future. The goal of the checkpoint is to end the current one size fits all system that airlines and airports employ around the world.
Instead of a single screening procedure applied to all fliers, the group envisions that passengers would be divided into risk categories based on the information available about them.
They would then be directed to one of three lanes: “Known Traveler,” “Normal” and “Enhanced Security.”The first — and quickest — lane would only be available to fliers who have registered and undergone background checks with their governments.
Normal screening in the second lane would apply to the majority of travelers. New technology would allow them to walk through without having to take off their clothes or shoes, or unpack their bags.
Passengers for whom less information is available, who are randomly selected or who are deemed to be an “elevated risk,” would receive more screening in the third lane.
Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO said that not only is there a need for a change in the way we think of security, but we also need to focus on hassling passengers less. Many of the security systems used today were designed when hijackings and metal weapons were the major threat.
A biometric identifier in your passport would determine which lane you go through based on a risk assessment performed before you arrive at the airport.
Nineteen governments, including the United States, are working to define standards for a Checkpoint of the Future, IATA said. The group estimated it could be a reality in about five to seven years.
Critics of the system are already stating that Muslims, dissidents, and anyone the government generally doesn’t like will go through the yellow, leftmost side, minorities we trust go through the middle, and rich white people will go through the right. While this statement may seem amusing to some, the question of bias and profiling will be a huge issue with such a system.
Questions of privacy also arise as details are quite limited at the moment. Information not released include what video and personal information will be collected, what types of scanners are used and what will be scanned, and what is going to be done with the information collected? Also of concern is how this checkpoint will deal with passengers who have implanted medical devices or must carry tanks of oxygen.
While the machine does not exist yet, it is important to answer these questions now in the planning stages rather than later when they have been put into use and not thoroughly tested.
The best solution, of course, is to return to pre-9/11 security screening. The two things that will prevent another attack, reinforced cockpit doors and allowing passengers to fight back, already exist and are in use. There really isn’t a need for anything further.
