Skip Security-For A Price

[MJS]

For a $100 fee, some passengers were able to avoid the hassle of taking off their shoes and putting them thru the x-ray machine to detect bombs. I have to wonder just how much time this process saves though. I'd think that if people opted for this, that the lines would be no shorter than if they removed their shoes. And I have to wonder how many people are going to want to spend more money. It'll be interesting to see how this works out.

ORLANDO, Fla. - While thousands of travelers queued up daily at Orlando International Airport, yanking off their shoes and shoving them through X-ray machines, a select few got to avoid the hassle during the latter part of 2006 — and passengers at four other airports nationally will soon join them.
These travelers, who paid a $100 fee and underwent a background check to be part of a test program, bypassed the line and stepped into what may be a glimpse of the future — they inserted a biometric identification card into a kiosk that scanned their irises and their fingerprints to verify their identity, placed a fingertip on an explosives scanning device and stood on a scanning platform that determined whether their footwear hid a bomb.

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[Infinite]

I'd guess for road warriors this would be a must. Sales guys and CEO's types tha fly a lot must think this is going to be great.

 

[MBuzzy]

Sounds like they spend quite a while getting inspected anyway....I wonder just how much time this will save once thousands of people are doing it...

 

[exile]

It's got to be a function of the scanning speed. It probably takes a fraction of the time to scan one of these cards and an iris neuro/vascular pattern (if that's what they're doing with the eye scan) than it does to run three or four separate bins per person through an X-ray machine and have to think about what shapes those X-rays are showing and what they could be, and if you should follow up, and... and...

If it goes full-scale, I wouldn't be at all surprised it if does save a lot of time. To make it work, though, everything depends on the thoroughness of the background check. As an occasional flier, I'd want that to be carried out at a microscopic level. I want to know that the people I'm flying with really do pass muster in the security dept., just as I'm sure they want to know that about me. If you get to pay to play, the initial security review for the prepaid crowd had better be at least as thorough as the routine security check for the ordinary flier... probably a lot more, if it's going to be a one-time thing.

 

[MBuzzy]

I would be really concerned about the background check. I mean...how in depth are we talking? And would it really be enough to allow someone on a plane without at least an x-ray?

For the military, the standard secret security clearance - which mostly everyone has - takes from 4-5 months up to a few years depending how backed up they are. At a fairly high cost to the government. I don't remember the number, but a Top Secret clearance costs above $10,000. And for a Secret clearance, they barely even contact your references or those who know you.

So based on knowing that...I wonder just how thourough it is going to be? A criminal record check, maybe credit report (to find past residences), possible search for birth certificate, but how much more in depth would it go....and is it enough???