Passengers departing from the Durango-La Plata County Airport may have noticed something new: The Transportation Security Administration has reinstalled a body scanner.
“It allows TSA to process our passengers faster,” said Airport Director Kip Turner. “It’s the same kind of equipment you see at most airports now.”
The body scanner also reduces the number of pat-downs, he said.
TSA installed a body scanner in January 2012 at the airport, but the unit was removed after several months to be relocated to a larger airport.
“We’re excited to have it back, I can tell you that,” Turner said.
The airport expanded a wall, relocated the United Airlines counter and reconfigured the security checkpoint to make room for the body scanner.
“It doesn’t relieve any of the space restrictions we have in the departure lounge,” he said.
Full-body scanners were introduced about 2007 to replace metal detectors. But they quickly became a source of controversy, in part because they allowed screeners to see a nude representation of the body, including breasts and genitalia.
Since then, the scanners have been modified to detect irregularities, which can then trigger a pat-down. A screen shows only a Gumby-like image identifying where the anomaly is located on the body.
The scanner was installed at the airport earlier this month, just in time for the busy holiday traveling season.
