Health, Privacy Top APA's Concerns

In a letter to its 11,000 pilots, APA is urging its members to refuse the full-body scans and insist on pat-down searches when clearing security at airports.

In the letter, which was published in The Atlantic and elswhere, APA president Captain David Bates says that, while airline pilots are certainly "highly motivated partners" in aviation security, he feels that the level of screening for pilots has "spun out of control" and does not significantly improve security.

Bates said one of his major concerns is the exposure to radiation to which pilots are subjected during the backscatter full-body scans.

Excerpting a letter he sent to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, Bates tells the membership, "We are exposed to radiation every day on the job. For example, a typical Atlantic crossing during a solar flare can expose a pilot to radiation equivalent to 100 chest X-rays per hour. Requiring pilots to go through the AIT means additional radiation exposure. I share our pilots' concerns about this additional radiation exposure and plan to recommend that our pilots refrain from going through the AIT. We already experience significantly higher radiation exposure than most other occupations, and there is mounting evidence of higher-than-average cancer rates as a consequence."

Bates advises APA members to "politely" decline exposure to the full body scan, and insist on a pat-down search that is out of view of the traveling public. He said that way, what is an inherently demeaning experience will preserve the pilots' "privacy and dignity."

TSA Scanner In Use

Bates concludes that, should the additional screening make a pilot late to his or her airplane, that they be sure not to "cut corners the jeopardize the safety of the flight."

FMI: www.alliedpilots.org