Aviation securityFull-body-scan "opt-outs" at U.S airports at normal rate
The organizers of the airport screening “National Opt-Out Day” hoped to exploit the American public’s anger at, and dissatisfaction with, the current state of affairs — anger that found expression earlier this month in the midterm elections — for a spectacular demonstration which would paralyze domestic air-travel during the busy Thanksgiving travel period: they called on travelers to opt-out of full-body scanning, thus forcing TSA screeners to pat them down, bringing air travel to a halt; the organizers failed to reckon with two set of numbers: fewer than 3 percent of travelers receive pat-downs, and the vast majority of Americans — as much as 80 percent — approve of full-body scanners being used at U.S. airports; the result: the stunt has failed, and the number of travelers opting out of full-body scans is not higher than normal
Unofficial reports from airports around the United States say that the vast majority of those traveling today who could be subject to full-body scans at U.S. airports are not refusing those scans, despite an online call for a “National Opt Out Day” on the eve of Thanksgiving.
At New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Boston’s Logan International Airport, there have been “very few opt outs” so far, according to the official. At Baltimore Washington International airport, four passengers “opted out.” Those were the only “opt outs” reported as of 10 o’clock Wednesday morning, the official said.
Fox News reports that critics of new security measures implemented by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) call on those traveling today — one of the busiest travel days of the year — to refuse full-body imaging, which forces TSA agents across the country to give pat-downs and, critics say, would let Americans “see for themselves how the TSA treats law-abiding citizens.”
“The government should not have the ability to virtually strip search anyone it wants without cause,” says the website OptOutDay.com. “We do not believe the government has a right to see you naked or aggressively touch you just because you bought an airline ticket.”
Other sites, such as WeWontFly.com, went even further. “TSA does not have the manpower to stick their hands in the pants of everyone coming through there,” said the site’s co-founder, James Babb. “We are encouraging people to not just opt out of the radiation scan but also opt out of the groping by not flying at all.”
Wednesday morning, TSA administrator John Pistole told Fox News that if “a number of people” decide to “opt out,” such a move would “slow down security check points” and “would have the possible unavoidable consequence of people missing flights.”
As of 10 a.m., however, transportation security officials across the country are reporting relatively short lines at security checkpoints and positive feedback from passengers.
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport, the wait to go through security is about ten minutes, and security officers have received “lots of passenger compliments,” the government official said. Similarly, at the airports in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the wait to go through security is less than five minutes, and “passenger feedback” has been “very positive” and “very supportive,” the official said. In Richmond, Va., no passengers at the airport there have “opted out,” and security officers are receiving “lots of thank yous,”
