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Air travel carries on with new rules

The Transportation Security Administration displays scissors, knives, cigarette lighters and other items that have been confiscated from U.S. airline passengers. Starting Dec. 22, passengers will be allowed to take small scissors and screwdrivers aboard planes again. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Sara Kehaulani Goo Washington Post
The Transportation Security Administration displays scissors, knives, cigarette lighters and other items that have been confiscated from U.S. airline passengers. Starting Dec. 22, passengers will be allowed to take small scissors and screwdrivers aboard planes again. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

WASHINGTON – Air travelers planning to take off for the holiday season will face a string of new security procedures and find that old rules no longer apply.

Even travelers who do not set off walkthrough metal detectors will now find themselves occasionally pulled aside for a pat-down as part of changes that go into effect Dec. 22. A new procedure calls for screeners to routinely touch passengers in the mid-thigh area and arms – not just their torsos. Security officers, newly trained in “behavior recognition” screening, will scan the crowds for travelers who appear to be nervous and will pull them aside for extra scrutiny.

The Transportation Security Administration announced these and other new security measures Friday as part of a new strategy designed to be less predictable to potential terrorists as well as frequent travelers. The changes mark the biggest shift in airport security since the agency’s creation after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

On Friday several aviation leaders applauded the changes, such as the decision to re-allow small scissors and tools – such as screwdrivers and wrenches – in carryon luggage, even though flight attendants and some members of Congress have raised objections. Security and aviation officials have complained that for too long the federal government spent few resources on the biggest carryon threats to air travel, such as explosives.

Among the changes the TSA announced Friday:

“There has been a 70 percent increase in the number of bomb-sniffing dog teams moving through airports, with 420 teams now in 80 airports.

“ Plans are in place to greatly increase the number of walkthrough “puffer” machines that detect explosives on a person’s clothing, from 43 machines today to 340 machines by fall 2006.

“Passengers who do not set off the metal detector may randomly be selected for additional screening, such as a brief search of their bags, screening shoes for explosives, hand-wanding with a metal detection device, or a pat-down.

“More passengers will be selected for additional screening, but some procedures may be briefer. A new pat-down procedure, for example, calls for more common sense: screeners will not pat down areas of the body covered by tight clothing or where it is obvious the passenger is not concealing items underneath.

“A new pat-down procedure calls for more attention to arms and legs, including touching the back of the mid-thigh.

“At a handful of airports, the TSA has trained screeners to look for suspicious behavior patterns in passengers, and the agency plans to expand this program. Officials say the program uses observation techniques and does not single out persons based on race, religion or nationality.