Editorial: Hands-free security

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004 | 9:05 a.m.

Travelers going through McCarran International Airport will soon gain an understanding of how security will be conducted in the future. They will be relieved to discover that the days of physical pat-downs could be numbered.

From among 70 applicants, McCarran was one of 16 airports around the country chosen by the Transportation Security Administration to test a futuristic "portal" early next year. Passengers stepping into it won't be transported through time, but they will be cleared for conventional takeoff. The semi-closed portal directs bursts of air toward the passenger inside, then analyzes the air for traces of explosives. If none are detected during a 30-second analysis, an automated voice will tell the traveler to proceed.

The immediate effect at McCarran will be virtually nonexistent, as the airport, which handles more than 40 million passengers a year, is getting just two of the machines. If the machines test well at McCarran and at the other airports, though, they could be installed in massive quantities.

This portal is just one of the new airport security technologies to emerge since 9/11. Another machine, which McCarran's security director Dennis Clark would like to see installed, is a backscatter. This low-radiation X-ray machine scans travelers. While blotting out exact body images, it is capable of quickly outlining guns, knives or other weapons concealed under clothing.

The Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Transportation Security Administration, has been faulted for not always moving aggressively enough to improve airport security. We were glad to see, then, aggressiveness on the part of our local airport officials. They moved to get this new technology at its earliest availability. If it proves successful, we hope federal officials will expand the program without delay.