Holiday Travelers Opt Out of
Nov-29-2010

Holiday travel lines have been moving smoothly at major airports around the nation, including LAX, despite a grassroots push to protest against invasive new airport screening procedures.

The online organizer of "National Opt Out Day" urged travelers to request full-body pat-downs rather than submit to what he calls a "naked body scanner" to "send a message to our lawmakers that we demand change."

While only about three percent of US passengers are subjected to secondary screening, the pat-downs take a lot longer than stepping into an x-ray scanner.

More passengers asking for pat-downs would mean lines already swollen by Thanksgiving travelers could move even more slowly on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

But the Transportation Security Administration said very few passengers opted out Wednesday.

And there were only scattered protesters -- including a man who went through airport security in a Speedo in Seattle.

At LAX, a few activists handed out pamphlets and stickers to travelers, and one woman showed up for her flight wearing a bikini under her coat.

Travelers thinking about taking a stand should consider the impact on people who "just want to get to their loved ones for the holidays," said John Pistole, head of the Transportation Security Administration.

More than 40 million people plan to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to AAA, with more than 1.6 million flying -- a 3.5 percent increase from last year.

Asked Wednesday if the protests were having any noticeable effect, TSA chief John Pistole told The Associated Press, "Not that we've seen overall. I mean we've, you know, had a couple of one-offs here and there."

The national uproar gained traction last week after a cell-phone video of a disgruntled passenger telling a screener "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested" went viral.

Videos of children being patted down and agents patting breasts and genitals fueled the fire.

One of the most shocking stories is that of bladder cancer survivor who said a TSA pat-down broke his urostomy bag, leaving him covered in his own urine.

TSA officials say the new procedures are necessary to ward off terror attacks.

Posted by Clay Kohut at 12:43 AM - Link to this entry  |  Share this entry  |  Print