If you plan on flying out of Gainesville in the future, expect to receive a full-body scan on your way out.
But don’t worry, only the computer will see what is underneath your clothes.
Gainesville Regional Airport is in the process of getting a full-body scanner along with other airports across the nation. The model the airport plans to use would transform the controversial image process into that of a cartoon-like portrait.
The backscatter scanner takes a full-body image through low-wave radiation rays but only the computer sees the image. The computer then alters the image of the person who walks through the scanner and highlights anything out of place.
The millimeter wave scanner does not transform the original image produced by electromagnetic waves.
Though the airport asked for the backscatter model, it is still not guaranteed, said Laura Aguiar, manager of public relations and governmental affairs for Gainesville Regional Airport. She said the scanner was chosen to insure privacy while upholding federal standards.
“It’s just something we wanted to make sure we had the best available technology that offers the most privacy to our passengers,” she said.
While there is no cost to the airport for the machine, the Transportation Security Administration pays anywhere from $130,000 to $170,000 per scanner.
The body scanners, similar to the one Gainesville hopes for, have already been put to use in Boston’s Logan Airport.
Phil Orlandella, director of media relations for Logan Airport, said there hasn’t been any problems or complaints with the body scanners.
There are 486 machines in 78 airports, according to the TSA.
Aguiar said since Gainesville has such a small airport, there would be room for only one scanner to replace the single metal detector there now.
She said there has been no update for when the scanner would be installed and that the earliest date would be sometime this spring.
Sari Koshetz, a TSA spokesperson, said it is not TSA policy to discuss which airports would receive the scanners until they are on deployment schedule and that Gainesville Regional is not yet officially on that schedule.
