HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - It's one more tool to prevent a terrorist attack. Full body scanners are now at the Honolulu airport. The Transportation Security Administration rolled out the new device, officially called Advanced Imaging Technology, on Friday as a way to stay one step ahead of security threats.
Since 9/11, getting off the ground hasn't been easy. "Make sure you take out all items - cellphones, keys, coins," says a TSA security officer directing passenger traffic at the checkpoint and towards the new body scanners.
With body imaging, employees can detect metal and non-metallic items - anything from cellphones to liquids, powders, and plastics to explosives. No passenger pat downs necessary. TSA spokesman Nico Melendez says, "They don't want to be touched, and we understand that. That's why we pursued technology like this - so we can get away from having to touch passengers needlessly."
The process works like this: passengers take their shoes off, enter into a tall, cylinder-shaped enclosure, and stand on yellow foot markings, shoulder-width apart. They put their hands over their head, bent at the elbows, for five to seven seconds - as the machine scans the body. In a private room nearby, a TSA screening officer views the black and white body images on a computer screen - looking for anything suspicious...
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