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Aviation News Item: 07449
15th Apr 2010
Survey Shows For Most Americans, Air Travel Security Trumps Privacy
Source: aero-news.net
 65% Say They Are Willing To Cooperate In Full Body Electronic Scans
Ninety-three percent of Americans said they are willing to sacrifice some level of privacy to increase safety when traveling by air, according to research conducted in January and February by Unisys Corporation. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) said they are willing to cooperate with full electronic body scans at the airport, and more than half (57%) would be willing to submit to identity checks using biometric data such as iris scans or fingerprints.
Nearly three quarters of Americans (72%) said they are willing to provide personal data in advance of air travel to increase security.
The findings, part of the latest bi-annual Unisys Security Index, illustrate that recent events such as the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing may have made security a priority for air travelers. A clear majority of citizens in nearly every country surveyed said they would be willing to forgo privacy to increase air travel security. For example, 90% of citizens in the United Kingdom and 70% of Australians said they would submit to electronic body scans.
"An overwhelming majority of the global population is willing to cooperate with enhanced travel security mandates, suggesting that the public is willing to give up some privacy in return for safer air travel," said Mark Cohn, vice president of enterprise security, Unisys. "This suggests that the public supports technologies, communications and personnel to enhance security at our nation's airports, borders and ports."
The latest results of the Unisys Security Index also confirmed that national security and identity theft rank as America's top concerns, with nearly two-thirds (65%) "extremely" or "very" concerned about U.S. national security and 64% seriously concerned about identity theft.
"The finding that an overwhelming number of Americans are willing to submit private information to enjoy safe air travel provides strong evidence that the public's privacy fears may be in decline," said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, an independent research and consulting firm. "I find the results of the Unisys Security Index as compelling evidence that people throughout the world care deeply about their personal safety, especially when traveling on a commercial airline."
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