Is there a friendlier, tail-wagging alternative to explicit body screens and “enhanced” pat downs of the flying public?
So far, being nosed by an explosive-sniffing dog is not an option for travelers at airports, who for security reasons are now being screened via the high-tech scanners or intrusive pat downs. But some passengers and security experts say it’s high time to send dogs sniffing up and down airport lines, perhaps reducing the need for methods that are more invasive of personal privacy.
For decades, canine explosive-detection teams have been used to screen air cargo on passenger flights.
The US military uses dogs in Afghanistan and Iraq. In June, the European Union for the first time approved use of explosive-sniffing dogs to screen airline passengers.
Bomb-sniffing hounds already pad aisles on Amtrak and many US commuter-rail trains.
“Dogs would be a wonderful solution,” says Jeffrey Price, co-author of a textbook on aviation security and chief of Leading Edge Strategies, a security consulting firm in Denver.
“They’re much friendlier than some of the current processes – and yet, if you’re hiding something, the last thing you want to see is a dog.”
Bomb-sniffing dogs could improve passenger screening and explosives detection, while reducing concerns about privacy and radiation exposure, some US security experts say.
