April 04--Federal officials have hauled away the Montgomery Regional Airport's only full-body scanner just a year after they installed it.
Transportation Security Administration representatives removed the machine overnight within the past two weeks. TSA confirmed Wednesday that at least one machine has been removed from Dothan's airport, as well.
TSA is pulling the minivan-sized machines out of small airports nationwide and sending them to 33 large hubs, where they will replace older scanners that have been criticized for showing too much anatomy. Congress set a June deadline for TSA to remove or update the current machines at larger airports after the controversy erupted.
Phil Perry the executive director of the Montgomery Regional Airport, praised the machine's technology, which he said was less invasive and less difficult to operate than the older model that was at other airports. But he said he understood why the federal officials took it.
"TSA didn't move it because they wanted to but because they have to screen a certain number of people," Perry said. "I'm not in a position to say whether it was the best use of resources because it seems like it was just put in and now it's being moved."
Not all airport officials have been that understanding. The Associated Press reported last month that TSA contractors were threatened with arrest after officials at a Montana airport said they received no notice before the workers arrived. In North Dakota, local officials were frustrated when scanners were set to be pulled from a terminal remodeled last year with $40,000 in local funds just to fit the new machines.
The Montgomery airport was the first in Alabama to get one of the $150,000 advanced imaging technology machines, and it showed off the technology here for the first time March 16, 2012. It shows a generic outline of a human body instead of a passenger-specific image. If it spots a potential threat, a small box appears on the image in the area where it was detected.
The federal agency covered the cost and transportation of the machine when it was installed.
TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said Wednesday that the redistribution is meant to place the machines in airports "where they will be used a significant portion of operating hours." She said the agency will continue to look for airports with the greatest need as it gets new units.
"That makes a lot of sense to me based on traffic size," said Bettina Moncus, an Army colonel who was waiting with family members Wednesday before flying out of Montgomery. "There's a higher risk in larger airports. That would be a smart approach.
"There are things that happen that no human being can control. We've got some good TSA agents out there willing to go the extra mile, so I feel safe."
Meanwhile, Montgomery is back to the security process it used before the machine arrived.
That includes the use of a metal detector, an X-ray machine and an explosive trace machine.
"Up until a year ago it was this (process)," Perry said. "It's still multilayered. I feel comfortable with the approach that we have now, but I was surprised at how well I liked the machine."
Montgomerian George Kenyon, who was waiting to pass through the checkpoint on Wednesday, said he'd rather put his faith in the airport's security personnel and in his fellow travelers.
"People watch out for people around here," Kenyon said. "If I see something I don't like, I'm gonna say something."
Copyright 2013 - Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.
