The first 11 airports receiving advanced imaging technology (AIT) units are gearing up for their arrival.Advanced imaging technology safely screens passengers for metallic and non-metallic threats, including weapons, explosives and other objects concealed under clothing that might normally go undetected.
AIT units are currently being set up at Boston Logan International airport, and within a week they’ll be at Chicago O’Hare International airport. You should see the rest of the airports on this list in action by this summer:
· Boston Logan International (BOS)
· Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
· Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
· Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
· Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FFL)
· Kansas City International (MCI)
· Los Angeles International (LAX)
· Mineta San José International (SJC)
· Oakland International (OAK)
· Port Columbus International (CMH)
· San Diego International (SAN)
A total of 450 AIT units will be deployed by the end of 2010 and the additional airports will be announced in the near future.
You might be wondering why it takes so long to deploy these machines. Well, it’s not as if you can pop these out of the box and plug them in. Many factors are taken into consideration before AIT units are deployed, including the airports' infrastructure. These machines are big, and don’t forget about the remote viewing location that goes along with the machines. So as you can imagine, there is much planning going on behind the scenes before these machines actually arrive at their airports and are ready to screen.We’ve posted here on the blog about AIT many times in the past, and here are some links to previous blog posts to help answer some of the questions you might have:
Can your image be saved or printed? No.
What will my image look like? What will TSA officers see? Take a look…
Will children be screened with this new technology? Yes and no.
What’s the difference between millimeter wave and backscatter? Read here...
Has my privacy been taken into consideration? Are these machines safe? Yes.
Currently, 40 AIT units purchased previously are deployed at 19 airports nationwide.
Thanks,
Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team
