More Airport Security On The Horizon
When I wrote last week about travel trends that tick me off, I left out one major part of travel that takes the shine off the trip – airport security. Until eight years ago – and we all know why it changed – you would show your passport at the check-in desk, show it again at immigration and you and your stuff would get scanned quickly on the way out. On the way in, checks took only a short time (except in places like Miami Airport, which is always a time consuming stop).
Airport Security Checks
However, security checks now take an inordinate amount of time. On my recent trip to Bahrain, my bags were scanned several times, the first time even before I got to the check-in desk. Then they were scanned again at security, and then the hand luggage was searched on the way out of the country.
In the US, the checks when you enter the country can be quite stringent. The photographs, fingerprints and close scrutiny of your documents may be justified, but it often doesn’t feel that way, particularly if you’re a law abiding citizen.
Checking Out
But now there are moves afoot to extend that process to departing visitors. A recent story in the Washington Post highlights the plan by the Department of Homeland Security which:
“would collect fingerprints at airport security checkpoints, departure gates or terminal kiosks, allowing the government to track when roughly 35 million foreign visitors a year leave the country.”
At the moment this is a proposal, but the DHS wants this in within two years, despite opposition from the airlines. Current plans are to exclude land borders which, many say, negates the plan’s possible value.
If you’re American, then you probably won’t have to worry about this. For people who visit the country regularly, though, this adds another process to the already time consuming routine of lining up, removing shoes, opening laptop cases, being scanned and repacking your stuff which helps make travel much less fun.
(Photo: http://morguefile.com/archive/display/133263)
Tags: air travel, airport security, travel, Travel News
