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By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY Most air travelers are bothered or angry about thorough pat-downs at airport security checkpoints and many dislike the alternative at many airports, a full-body scan, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. The thorough pat-downs, akin to what police give suspects and which were in place at all airports Nov. 1, bother or anger 57% of adult fliers, according to the poll conducted Nov. 19-21 of Americans who have flown at least twice in the past year and released Tuesday. About half say the pat-downs, which often touch breast, buttocks and genital areas, are not more effective than previous search methods at preventing terrorists from smuggling potential weapons or explosives onto airplanes. A majority of fliers say they aren't bothered by full body scanning machines. But a large percentage — 42% — say they are angry or bothered by them.
The machines, which will be at most of the 800 checkpoints at 450 commercial passenger airports by the end of next year, have been criticized by some passengers for exposing them to a small dose of radiation and allowing their naked bodies to be viewed by security screeners. The machines, about 67% of adult fliers say, are more effective than previous search methods. The USA TODAY/Gallup Poll was based on telephone interviews of 757 adult fliers. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points. The poll's results come a day before what's being called national "Opt Out Day" on the full-body machines. Several travel websites have urged passengers flying the day before Thanksgiving to refuse to be scanned by the machines and instead undergo a thorough pat-down.
Pilots unions expressed opposition to both procedures, and the Transportation Security Administration last week said they'd stop using them to search pilots. Uniformed pilots working for a U.S. airline must now show identification and have their credentials checked in a database by TSA agents. Several members of Congress — including Reps. John Mica, R-Fla., and Rep. Thomas Petri, R-Wis., who are set to assume leadership of aviation issues in Congress next year when Republicans take control — have demanded that the TSA restrict the use of the thorough pat-downs. Last week, state lawmakers in New Jersey announced a resolution calling the machines' scans a violation of the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure, and members of New York's City Council said they would introduce legislation to ban use of the machines in the city. Passenger rights advocate Kate Hanni of FlyersRights.org says the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll sends an obvious message to TSA. "The poll shows the nation is against these intrusive pat-downs, and nearly half of Americans are against the body scanners," Hanni says. "Most Americans haven't yet experienced either screening method but may do so over the holidays, and support for these measures will further erode." Hanni says that more travelers would oppose the scanning machines if pat-downs were not the only alternative. In a written statement, the TSA responded to the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll results. "We are constantly evaluating and adapting our security measures, and as we have said from the beginning, we are seeking to strike the right balance between privacy and security," the statement said. The TSA said, "We cannot forget that less than one year ago a suicide bomber tried to bring down a plane over Detroit." Last December, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national, was arrested on a Northwest Airlines flight and charged with attempting to use a device fastened to his body to destroy an aircraft. The TSA said terrorists who allegedly placed bombs on cargo flights last month "are out there bragging about how they will strike again." Two package bombs were found on a UPS jet in London and at a Federal Express facility in Dubai. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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