People traveling over Thanksgiving who haven't flown recently might want to keep in mind that they could be fully patted down under the Transportation Security Administration's latest security measures.
The pat-down procedures changed at airports across the country in late October.
Travelers nationwide are not happy about the new procedures for screening, but there are those like Bettie Bennett who are willing to give up a little privacy and convenience in exchange for better security, especially in the wake of bombs disguised as printer ink cartridges that terrorists in Yemen shipped aboard jets in a thwarted attack last month, and an "underwear bomber" who came close to blowing up a plane near Detroit last Christmas.
Travelers haul their carry on luggage as they make their way through the security line at the Myrtle Beach International Airport. The airport is not one of the airports where advanced imaging technology has been implemented. Photo by Steve Jessmore sjessmore@thesunnews.com
"I'm for what keeps me safe," said Bennett, who was at the Myrtle Beach International Airport on Thursday.
Bennett, who was in town for her 80th birthday and a family reunion, said she had to be patted down at an airport in Houston because of her hip replacement, which she warned TSA officers about ahead of time.
"It was a thorough pat-down in a cubicle," said Bennett, who expects to go through the same procedure at the Myrtle Beach airport when she returns this week. "I have a lot of clothes on. It was well worth it. It's crummy for people to make a big deal when they're trying to keep us safe. Even though they have to touch your body, it's about my security."
Pat-downs are primarily used when alarms go off when a someone walks through a metal detector; if an anomaly is detected during screening with advanced imaging technology; or during random screening, according to the TSA blog. If one of those situations arises, people will be patted down before they're able to continue on to their flights.
Pat-downs are also given to passengers who opt out of full-body screening or walk-through metal detectors, the blog stated.
Children younger than 12 are not subject to the enhanced pat-downs, according to the TSA, and anyone else who is eligible does have the right to request that the procedure be conducted in a private room and in the presence of a travel companion.
TSA spokesman Jonathan Allen said there has been no impact on wait times at the Myrtle Beach airport because of the pat-downs.
Only a small percentage of passengers end up facing the procedure, according to TSA, though there are passengers who do not like it.
"It's really insane to me," said Pam Kerouac, who had to go through a full body scan and then be patted down in Raleigh because of metal on her pants.
Kerouac, who flew into Myrtle Beach on Thursday for business, thinks it would be more effective for passengers to be interviewed as a way of screening than current security measures.
Noriene Schuetz is also not fond of current security measures, but said she would take the body scan over a pat-down.
"I wouldn't want anyone to touch me," said Schuetz, who was heading back to Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon from Myrtle Beach.
Schuetz had to go through the body scan at Pittsburgh International Airport on her way to Myrtle Beach for a week's visit with a friend.
"I wasn't fond of it," Schuetz said. The scan requires a passenger to step into shoeprints in an unenclosed body-scanner and to hold their arms over their head. The image, which looks similar to an X-ray and is blurred to hide facial features, is viewed by a different TSA screener in an enclosed room. The image is immediately erased and cannot be retrieved, TSA claims.
People traveling from the Myrtle Beach airport won't have to worry about the full-body scan. The Myrtle Beach airport is not among the nearly 70 airports nationwide that have the advanced imaging technology. The airports to receive imaging technology soon include Chicago Midway International Airport, Houston William P. Hobby Airport, and Saipan International Airport, according to the TSA's website.
The Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.
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