Body scanners move front and center at Indy airport

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Next time you take a plane out of the Indianapolis International Airport you'll find body scan machines much more visible.

The TSA told 24-Hour News 8 Friday the controversial Millimeter Wave Units, as they are officially known, are moving from secondary positions to primary positions at Indianapolis International. But the TSA wants customers to understand that doesn't mean you have to step inside of one.

From the day it opened, the Indianapolis Airport has had four Millimeter Wave Units, body scanners.

Susan Sullivan, the spokesperson for the Indianapolis Airport Authority, said, "I think the federal folks with TSA have decided that this technology is something they want to use more."

The TSA agent sees an image that looks a little like an X-ray. The TSA says the image stays on the screen for 12-15 seconds.

Susan Sullivan said, "They are similar to an X-ray, but they are more opaque. So they don't see features. They see shapes."

Faces are blurred and can't be seen by the agent, but because the image includes all of you, the full body scanners are controversial.

Janelle Allen, a traveler heading out from Indianapolis International, said she feels like it's an invasion of privacy.

But the TSA told 24-Hour News 8, even though the scanners have moved front and center at Indianapolis International Airport, you always have the option to ask the agent for a different kind of scan.

Sullivan said, "The traditional metal detectors would be one. A pat-down is probably likely to be another."

And while some object to the scanners, plenty of others don't mind it at all.

Bud Myers, also travelling through Indianapolis International, said, "Oh, that's fine with me. In this day and age of security threats, we better do everything to see that we're protected."

Moving the body scanners won't change the way you board your flights at the Indianapolis International Airport.

Only one machine has been moved forward so far. The others will be in place by next Tuesday. They are being moved one at a time overnight so it won't slow down the process of going through security at the airport.