How extreme heat could make getting through TSA at the airport more complicated for travelers this summer
If you’re sweating heavily as you go through airport security in the U.S., you may receive extra scrutiny from the TSA.
High summer temperatures in the United States may lead more passengers than usual to earn themselves a pat-down by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials as they negotiate airport security.
TSA may need to “ensure there is no threat” with sweaty travelers
A TSA spokesperson explained to the media outlet CNN earlier this month that the agency’s passenger screening technology can be triggered by a particularly sweaty traveler.
“Added moisture from a person’s body can alter the density of clothing, so it is possible perspiration may cause our Advanced Imaging Technology machines to alarm,” the TSA official told the media outlet.
“If this occurs, the passenger may need to undergo additional screening, such as a pat-down in the area of the body where the AIT alarmed, to ensure there is no threat.”
Screening tech sensitive to sweat
Speaking to Readers’ Digest, Denver International Airport’s former assistant director of security added that sweat can cause TSA scanners to alert because of the way the screening technology is designed.
Jeffrey Price explained that the scanners use millimeter waves, a high-frequency form of electromagnetic radiation, to generate three-dimensional images of passengers’ bodies and detect any foreign objects that could pose a safety threat.
“Sweat is mostly water, which absorbs millimeter waves differently than dry skin or fabric,” said Price, who is the author of the book Practical Aviation Security: Predicting and Preventing Future Threats.
“These differences in absorption, plus sweat causing clothing to cling to the skin, can appear as ‘foreign objects’ to the scanner.”
The U.S. is enduring a sweltering summer, with the country’s National Weather Service (NWS) warning that hot conditions will continue.
According to the NWS’s ‘seasonal temperature outlook’, August will be characterized by above-normal temperatures nationwide.
DHS scraps ‘Shoes-Off’ policy - with liquids to follow?
Meanwhile, passengers in the U.S. no longer have to remove their footwear when negotiating airport security, after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the end of the ‘Shoes-Off’ policy.
“The new policy will increase hospitality for travelers and streamline the TSA security checkpoint process, leading to lower wait times,” the DHS said in a statement this month.
The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said: “Thanks to our cutting-edge technological advancements and multi-layered security approach, we are confident we can implement this change while maintaining the highest security standards.”
Noem has also suggested that the DHS could scrap the 3.4-ounce limit on liquid containers in passengers’ carry-on luggage.
“The liquids, I’m questioning,” she told a press conference hosted by the U.S. news outlet The Hill this month. “So that may be the next big announcement, is what size your liquids need to be.”
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