Tel Aviv approves a shoe scanner

The Transportation Security Administration, which recently started testing technology designed to scan passengers for heightened levels of stress when they pass through security checkpoints, is now broadening its scope of operations to the pre-security parts of airport terminals. According to USA Today, TSA in recent weeks has carried out tests at Denver International and Minneapolis/St. Paul of a new scanner that examines people from a distance after they enter the terminal, looking for “cold spots” on a normally “hot” image of a heat-producing human body that could indicate the presence of a bulky item -- like a bomb. TSA officials told the newspaper they are concerned that because sneaking explosives onto planes is now so difficult, terrorists might instead focus on blowing themselves up inside a crowded airport terminal. According to the report, the tests at the two airports resulted in a couple of individuals being stopped and questioned by police, but no arrests.

Meanwhile, the airport that may be the most security-conscious in the world – Israel’s Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion International -- has reportedly approved new detection devices at security checkpoints that scan passengers’ shoes without requiring them to be removed. IDO Security Inc., which manufactures the MagShoe weapons detection system, said Ben Gurion has installed its product in security checkpoints throughout Terminal 3, its busy international terminal. “With MagShoe, Ben-Gurion extends the capabilities of traditional walkthrough metal detectors to include complete scanning of the ankles and feet in seconds – without requiring passengers to remove their shoes,” the company said. In the U.S., Verified Identity Pass – the provider of the Clear Registered Traveler program at 20 major airports – has been seeking TSA approval to use another brand of shoe scanners, but the agency has yet to approve the technology.