No Intrusive Screens for Pilots

Pilots will now be able to move through airports safe in the knowledge that no one will be gawking at their privates. The Transportation Security Administration agreed Friday to exempt them from stepped-up security procedures that include aggressive pat-downs and full body scans. Leaders of the pilots’ unions had been fighting for that privilege for two years. "Pilots are not the threat here; we're the target," one American Airlines pilot said. Some pilots believe that ultimately, some regular passengers who have cleared background checks and are on lists of “trusted travelers” will be allowed to bypass the scans as well. The flight attendants’ unions are also demanding the same treatment as pilots. Making them go through the intensive screening while waving uniformed pilots through—as long as they provide two forms of identification—represents a “double standard,” according to one airline’s union president.