New security rules at US airports evoke mixed reactions

New security rules at US airports evoke mixed reactions

WASHINGTON - Passengers traveling by air throughout America will now be able to take on board sharp objects like small scissors, which were banned in the post 9/11 travel restrictions.

These changes to the rules were outlined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Friday. However, there will be more body checks like patting in the mid-thigh area and the upper arms in an effort to nab potential terrorists. Additionally, even if the passengers do not set off the metal detector alarm, they can be pulled aside after "behavior recognition" screening.

This means that if security officers spot that a traveler is nervous and is behaving in a particularly itchy manner, he/she can be taken off for a through check. These new rules are set to come into effect from December 22 this year and are the first changes to airport security measures after the deadly 9/11 attacks.

"Our goal is to establish flexible protocols based on risk, so that terrorists cannot use the predictability of our security measures to their advantage when planning an attack," commented Edmund Hawley, the director the Transportation Security Administration. "In the past, security measures at every airport were pretty much the same. . . . With the changes we are implementing later this month, that predictability is gone." The main change is that security officials are going to be more flexible in carrying out searches and have the power to conduct random body searches as well.

The provision to allow screwdrivers and wrenches in the carry-on luggage did not meet with approval from flight attendants. Several associations have said that the rule changes were going to increase confusion all round, "I wish they would do it earlier or later so they aren't starting during the busy travel season. A combination of inexperienced travelers mixed with inexperienced screeners is a formula for disaster," said David Stempler, the chief of the Air Travelers Association.

The new rules have been vociferously opposed by Congressmen Ed Markey and Joseph Crowley, who said they would move a Bill to oppose the relaxation of the ban since it was " asking the next Mohamed Atta [9/11 hijacker] to move from box-cutters to scissors as the weapon that's used in the passenger cabin of planes."