Excuse Our Technical Difficulties

Although the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said an X-ray security scanner that takes clear pictures of the human body, along with concealed weapons, would be operating at Sky Harbor International Airport's Terminal 4 by Christmas, it was not to be.

Technical difficulties involving the scanner properly working with the airport's wireless connections were encountered, the TSA told AP. Testing has been rescheduled to early 2007.

The TSA also concluded that the holiday season was not the best time to start the project. (Do you think?) "The last thing we wanted to do was start this during one of the busiest travel times of the year," said Nico Melendez, an agency spokesman.

Already in use in prisons and by drug enforcement agents, the security scanner has been tested at Heathrow Airport. Sky Harbor will still be the first airport in the nation to test the equipment; the TSA will later test the machines at a handful of other airports later in the year.

During the pilot program, the X-ray machine will only be used as a secondary screening measure; passengers who fail the standard screening process will be able to choose between the new device or a typical pat-down search.

Critics say the high resolution images are too invasive. "This body-scan technology is nothing more than an electronic strip search," according to Barry Steinhardt, ACLU Associate Director.

The TSA says it can adjust the machine's images so normally graphic pictures are blurred in certain areas, while it can still be effective at detecting threats.

Phoenix Sky Harbor is the world's 6th busiest airport.

FMI: http://phoenix.gov/aviation,  www.tsa.gov,  www.aclu.org