Invasive pat-downs to stay, but pilots exempted
- Latest News
- Tuesday, 23 November 2010
It didn't work. He was arrested.
Wolanyk said he had been patted down a week before and he "was not willing to be molested again".
"I figured that this way everyone would be happy: I don't get scanned or groped, they can verify that I'm not a danger to anyone and the line would actually move more quickly because those pat-downs take time," he said.
Meanwhile, US secretary of State Hillary Clinton also has objected to the new pat-down measures, where female agents use their fingers and open palms to check between and under women's breasts and both sexes are patted down from crotch to ankles, front and back by agents of their own sex.
The head of the Transportation Security Administration, John Pistole, says he understands passenger concerns over the invasive frisking, but it won'tnbe scrapped.
However, TSA has now moved to exempt duty pilots from both full-body screening and pat-downs.
Pistole says uniformed pilots need only enter a secured area to present their airline identification and other papers to TSA officers.
The officers then will check the credentials of the pilots with the help of a database that will give the necessary information and photos to verify their employment status.
Flight crew members also will have the option of using the new program, although they will be subject to random screening and other kinds of security measures.
