Airport installs full body scanner

Visitors to Glacier National Park International Airport could find the security line at check-in running a little smoother than in the past, thanks to a new Pro Vision ATD scanner unveiled last week.

The scanner and accompanying software uses millimeter wave technology to scan a person for contraband and other potentially harmful items.

Once a person takes off their shoes, empties their pockets and enters the machine, the scan takes just a few seconds.

The $150,000 machine only scans the outside of the body, and the screen does not show revealing details of a person’s anatomy. It will show an alert, however, if someone leaves an item in their pocket or somewhere else on their body.

The scanner does not pick up internal body structure, like a knee replacement that contains metal.

Passengers can opt out of the being scanned, noted Dan Fevould, of the Department of Homeland Security, but they will have to pass through a metal detector and go through a pat-down process.

The units have already been installed in Bozeman, Billings and Missoula. Fevould said the unit would go into use immediately and would be used on every flight within two weeks.