DutchNews.nl - MPs agree to body scans as soon as possible

A majority of MPs agree with justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin that the body scan must be introduced for all passengers at Dutch airports as soon as possible, reports Nos on Wednesday.

Most of the main coalition and opposition parties support the move for the body scans following the terrorist attempt to blow up a plane on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.

Nevertheless, MPs stress that the scan alone is not sufficient as a security measure. The list of suspected terrorists must also be kept up to date, they say.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who has been charged with trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines plane in the US, was on a list of people ‘to watch’ in relation to terrorism although he was not on the so-called ‘no fly’ list.

There has been growing criticism that advanced body scan equipment, which is present at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, is not yet in use because of European Union restrictions.

According to many security experts, including those at Schiphol, such a body scan could have detected the explosives concealed in Abdulmutallab’s underwear.

However, the left wing GroenLinks and democrat D66 parties in particular are concerned about privacy. They want to know who will have access to the pictures made by the scans and how long they will be stored.

Hirsch Ballin said on Tuesday that he expects opposition to disappear if the body scans are operated automatically. This means guards will only look at the scan if an alarm goes off.

A spokesman for the counter terrorism office (NCTb) has confirmed that the minister wants the body scans to be operational as soon as possible, reports Trouw.

Hirsch Ballin spoke to the US minister for homeland security Janet Napolitano on the phone yesterday, reports the paper. ‘The safety of passengers must be top priority,’ he is reported to have told her. He wants the body scan to be introduced on a European level.

In the short term, passengers on planes to and from the US will be controlled by the body scan, said Hirsch Ballin. But eventually everyone on all flights to and from the Netherlands will have to go through the body scan.

At present tests are still being carried out with 15 body scans at Schiphol but the minister’s spokesman was unable to say when these will be used as a regular part of security controls, says Trouw.

"Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." — Thomas Jefferson

By Peter | December 30, 2009 10:07 AM

I find this disgusting.
Not only will MY privacy be invaded, but scans like this are NOT healthy for ANY body. I would not take a Xray or MRI for fun, so why would I subject my body to a scan like this only to travel?!

Let's face it.. if a terrorist wants to bring something illegal on a plane, he or she will FIND a way and no scan will prevent that. At some point we'll all be forced to walk through naked, holding our butt cheeks open with no luggage!

By Laura K. | December 30, 2009 10:54 AM

If this happened in the UK, in all probability senior heads of government security would be forced to resign - how come this does not happen in the Netherlands? I notice all the time how lax airport security is at Schipol in comparison to other countries.

By Beverly McFarlane | December 30, 2009 1:09 PM

The level of radiation is negligible as compared to what we get exposed to daily. As for our privacy, there is going to be one person in a closed room checking the scans, and from what was shown you see only contours of a person, and not any details. I don't understand why people make so much fuss about this.

By Olivia | December 30, 2009 1:31 PM

Hi Laura K.,

If you knew how much radiation irradiates you during a flight, you could not take a plane. The amount is much much more than what you will get at the body scan.

By Yoshio | December 30, 2009 3:04 PM

My dear prudish friends, I do not even want to see you naked with that scanner.Ever. Absolutely disgusting pictures.

By Jan-Dirk Wagenaar | December 30, 2009 4:55 PM