I had thought that it was only the saintly Michael O’Leary of Ryanair whose opinion on all matters regarding aviation was to be regarded as infalliable but now it seems the Pope wants to get in on the act.
In a speech to Alitalia workers Pope Benedict XVI criticised the use of full-body scanners at airports and said it is important “to protect the human person in their integrity” and that “human dignity must be preserved”.
There are certainly questions to be answered about the use of full-body scanners:
- Do they actually give the full protection against smuggled objects that is promised?
- Do they pose any form of long-term health risk?
The jury is out on both questions and there are plenty of people who suggest the installation of these machines at UK airports was just a knee-jerk political stunt to show “government in action” but which fails to solve the problem. Hopefully, those questions will be answered in due course and it can be judged whether the machines have any benefit. However, the Pope’s intervention on the matter is thoroughly unhelpful.
Of course we should preserve “human dignity” but preserving life by making air travel safer takes precedent in any sane world. If – and it is a big if – these machines fulfill that purpose then travellers will just have to live with them.
The Pope seems to have copied Michael O’Leary’s tactic of making questionable comments to get publicity. Airline security is not a religious issue and relgious leaders should leave the matter to the experts. If the Pope wants to get involved in aviation, maybe he should concentrate on praying for Alitalia’s revival.
Tags: Full-body scanners