DetectionAs shoe-scanning devices fail, passengers continue to remove their shoes
In the last five years the U.S. government has tested several scanning devices for detecting explosives and other weapons concealed in the shoes of airline passengers; after spending millions of dollars on these devices, TSA has concluded that the detection systems are ineffective; the result: removing shoes at security check points is going to be a part of air travel for the foreseeable future
As detection faiils, shoe removal returns // Source: english.irib.ir
In the last five years the U.S. government has tested several scanning devices for detecting explosives and other weapons concealed in the shoes of airline passengers. After spending millions of dollars on these devices, the TSA has concluded that the detection systems are ineffective.
RT reports that TSA started testing four different devices in 2007. One of the four scanners which was tested by the TSA was being used in airports in different countries, but passengers with metal weapons and small explosives in their shoes were able to make it through the scanning devices undetected, according to the New York Times.
One year ago, DHS secretary Janet Napolitano promised that air travelers would eventually be able to keep their shoes on at security checkpoints.
Lisa Farbstein, a DHS spokeswoman, said this to the Times:“Overall, the machines we tested didn’t detect all the materials we were looking for.”
Michael Goldberg, the president of an Israeli firm which created the shoe-scanning device Magshoefor TSA, told the Times that there is currently no form of technology that can detect all of the chemical compounds that can be used in an explosive. While the Magshoe detects metal, it cannot detect plastic explosives. Most X-ray machines cannot detect plastic explosives either.
Each Magshoe the government purchased costs between $4,400 and $7,000. In 2010, the Magshoe was sold to airports in eighteen different countries, including Israel, China, and Italy according to USA Today.
Although the Magshoe has failed, the government currently has a $1.4 million contract with Morpho Detection and will attempt to create an effective shoe scanning machine. Until such a device is created, passengers will want to wear clean socks as they will have to take off their shoes at airports.
“It’s going to be a part of air travel for the foreseeable future,” Farbstein said.
The removal of shoes means that there will continue to be long lines for people trying to get to their planes. Even TSA admits it creates problems. “The removal of footwear takes time, reduces the efficiency of the checkpoint, creates safety concerns with footwear removal and contributes to passenger dissatisfaction,” TSA wrote in a blog post last year.
