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US Holiday Travelers May Face Extra Delays

   Chris Simkins 24 November 2010
   Transportation  Security  Administration screener Marlon Tejada, left,
   watches as Randy Parsons, TSA acting Federal Security Director, right,
   goes  through  a  full body X-ray scanner for a security screening, 22
   Nov. 2010

Photo: AP

   Transportation  Security  Administration screener Marlon Tejada, left,
   watches as Randy Parsons, TSA acting Federal Security Director, right,
   goes  through  a  full body X-ray scanner for a security screening, 22
   Nov. 2010

   Millions  of Americans are traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday and
   some  may  face  delays  at  airports  because  of  protests  over the
   full-body security screenings that critics say are intrusive.
   Demonstrators   are   dubbing   Wednesday   "National   Opt-Out  Day,"
   encouraging  travelers to refuse the use of the full-body scanners and
   instead  have a full-body pat down, which takes longer. The protesters
   say  the  scanners  grossly  violate  a  traveler's privacy rights and
   dignity.
   The   protests   come   on  the  day  before  Thanksgiving,  which  is
   traditionally the busiest travel day of the year in the United States.
   The  head of the Transportation Security Administration, John Pistole,
   told  American television ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday that
   travelers  should  expect  delays because of the protests. He says his
   agency is fully staffed and prepared to handle disruptions at airports
   across the country.
   The  Obama  administration  says  the  enhanced  security measures are
   necessary  to  thwart  terror  plots  like  the attempted bombing of a
   U.S.-bound  plane  last Christmas by a Nigerian man who put explosives
   in his underwear.
   On  Thanksgiving,  Americans  gather  with  family and friends to give
   thanks, a tradition started by English settlers nearly 400 years ago.
   The  American  automobile  agency,  AAA,  projects  that  more than 42
   million  Americans will travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period,
   lasting from November 24 to November 28.
   A poll conducted Sunday by the Washington Post and ABC News found that
   while the majority of people support using the scanners, about half of
   those surveyed said the pat-downs go too far. The poll also found that
   those  surveyed want the government to focus on investigating possible
   terrorist attacks, even if that intrudes on personal privacy.
   White  House  spokesman Robert Gibbs noted that the new procedures are
   in  place  only  at  69  out  of the nearly 450 airports in the United
   States.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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