Newark Liberty Airport to be first in area to get full-body scanners

By Gideon Swift | Published: January 2, 2010

Newark Liberty Airport is getting full-body scanners that reveal all – and could keep terrorists like the undie bomber from boarding planes.

The gizmos, which cost about $170,000 apiece, are destined for Terminal B, which handles all international arrivals and domestic airlines like Delta and Northwest, according to the Port Authority.

Suspected Al Qaeda terrorist Umar Abdulmutallab tried to bring down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day as it was landing in Detroit by detonating a bomb stashed in his skivvies.

“We designed our new passenger screening spaces in Terminal B to accommodate future TSA equipment deployments,” said John Kelly, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Kelly said the Transportation Security Administration will determine how many devices the airport will get and when they will be installed.

Newark Liberty was chosen because it is one of the country’s busiest airports and because one of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers left from there, officials told the Star-Ledger.

The ACLU has raised objections to the scanners, saying the virtual strip searches are a violation of passenger privacy.

But fliers at Newark last night said they’re willing to trade some privacy for protection.

“I have nothing to hide, so whatever they have to do for safety is okay by me,” said Lily Ryan, 37, an IT professional, who was catching a flight to Munich.