Airport scanners coming soon

The body scanners are coming.

Advanced Imaging Technology machines, also known as full-body scanners, should be up and running at Glacier Park International Airport this month, according to Airport Director Cindi Martin.

The Transportation Security Administration doesn’t have a firm date on installation, but Martin said she’s anticipating the installation in the coming weeks.

Similar scanners have been installed at the Bozeman airport and are now being installed at the Billings airport, Martin said. Glacier Park International is next on the list, then Missoula.

TSA has installed new software on all of its millimeter-wave Advanced Imaging Technology machines in an effort to enhance privacy by eliminating passenger-specific images, according to the federal agency’s website. Any potential threat items detected are indicated as yellow boxes on a generic outline of a person. If no potential threat is detected, an “OK” appears on the monitor with no outline.

The millimeter wave technology bounces harmless electromagnetic waves off the body to create the same generic image for all passengers. It differs from backscatter technology that projects low-level X-ray beams to create an actual reflection of the body displayed on the monitor.

“We’re not getting backscatter machines,” Martin stressed.

The security agency notes on its website that passengers with joint replacements or other medical implants that normally would set off a metal-detector alarm prefer the body scanners because it’s quicker and less invasive than a pat-down.

The airport will roll out an educational campaign as the scanners are put in use to familiarize passengers with the procedure, she said.

Passengers will have the choice of using the body scanners or the “old-fashioned” magnetometers as they proceed through security, or they will be directed to the body scanners depending on volume, Martin said. If a passenger chooses neither of those security measures, he or she will get an enhanced pat-down, she added.

Random pat-downs will continue at Glacier Park International.

“For the most part the American public has accepted [the pat-downs], even though they’re not happy about it,” she said.

Martin said the airport stresses customer service and works to “hold TSA’s feet to the fire” to comply.

“The people flying here are our friends and neighbors,” she said. “This is a small town and we expect [TSA’s] baseline to be courteous and informative as passengers go through the process.”

The full-body scanners are paid for by the federal government and pose no financial burden to the local airport authority, Martin said. They are a precursor to a gate-area expansion planned this fall after the summer tourist season is over.

The expansion, in the final design phase, will cost the airport authority between $300,000 and $500,000 and involves converting terminal space now outside the secure area to inside the secure area. It involves relocating glass wall panels and taking about two-thirds of the former ground level gift-shop space to expand the Gate 1 area, which is too small even during the off-seasons.

Turn-style doors will be installed to funnel passengers out of the secure area, eliminating the need for a law-enforcement officer posted at the doors, Martin said.

A key reason for the reconfiguration is a pending requirement to create three lanes for travelers: for frequent, regular and high-risk travelers.

Glacier Park International expanded its security area in 2007, and inefficiencies have developed since then, such as a lack of space for passengers to divest themselves of their traveling items as they proceed through security.

The upstairs gift shop will be used for news and gift items this summer, but as the reconfiguration is completed, the gift concession will move into the remaining shop space on the ground floor and the upstairs shop will become a full-service restaurant.

The operator of the existing bistro upstairs will move into the new restaurant space, and work stations for laptop users will be installed in the bistro space.

“We had too much square footage dedicated to concession space, and the best use is to repurpose it,” Martin said.

Seating will be reconfigured to create more of a lounge feeling, Martin said, and will include children-friendly areas for families.

Much of the remodel is changing the facade to give passengers a good first and last impression of the Flathead Valley, she said.

For more information about the full-body scanners, go to the website www.tsa.gov.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.