Full Body Scanners Debut At Philly International
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- "Arms to your side and then above your head."
Those are the instructions travelers are receiving at the Philadelphia International Airport.
Eyewitness News got a first hand look at the only full body scanner located at Terminal F at the airport. The scanner represents one of many you'll see this holiday travel season.
"Sounds like a very good idea in the wake of all the security issues," traveler Polly Parsons said.
"I think it's an invasion of privacy," traveler Joe Dunham said. "Don't like it all."
Transportation Security Administration officials say 373 of these devices, known as Advanced Imaging Technology Units, are now at 68 airports nationwide. At least nine more are on schedule to be installed at the Philadelphia airport before the end of the year.
With Thanksgiving Day air-travel expected to be up 3.5 percent from last year, according to the Air Transport Association of America, wait times through checkpoints may be longer than normal.
Philadelphia businessman Joe Moynihan has already experienced delays. He says he travels through the airport three to four times a week.
"In the morning, the line is backed up around the concourse," said Moynihan.
Whether it's metal detectors or full body scanners, packing patience is the key to surviving any holiday travel season.
Reported By: Jericka Duncan, CBS 3
