HOLIDAY

Travelers Delayed by Safety Precautions

By Dale Hurd
Sr. Reporter

November 24, 2004

CBN.com – Thirty-seven million travelers will hit the roads and skyways today on their way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Those who fly should be ready for a big surprise at the airport because new guidelines for security checks are very intrusive.

And some say they go way over the line.

Ava Kingsford says the new airport security checks go too far. She, her husband and their three-month-old baby had to drive home to San Diego all the way from Denver, Colorado.

They were supposed to fly home, but Ava ran into a problem during a security check.

Ava describes what happened: “I thought I was done being patted down, and she says, ‘I am going to feel your breasts now.’ I said, ‘I’m am uncomfortable with that.’ I said, 'that's crossing the line.’”

But Ava says the transportation security officers insisted.

“They were yelling the same thing: ‘If you don't let her continue the search - and that entails feeling your breasts - you will not board your airplane home to San Diego.’"

The Kingsford family opted for the 15-hour drive home.

Ava experienced what many Thanksgiving travelers may experience this holiday season: an extended use of physical pat-down searches.

U.S. News and World Report says TSA officers may now feel the private regions of both sexes during searches.

The Federal government okayed the measures after two Chechen women smuggled bombs on to two Russian planes in a terrorist attack.

Back in America, the Transportation Safety Administration is testing machines that would hopefully get rid of the need for frisking.

But officials say it will be a long time before they're ready to use. Until then, Kingsford says get ready to be uncomfortable.

"I think people need to know what is happening now at the airports and be prepared," she said.

To avoid being pulled out of line for secondary screening, TSA officials suggest:

Make sure you have a valid ID.
Remove outer coats and jackets for x-ray before going through the metal detectors.
While you aren't required to take off your shoes before going through the x-ray machine, taking them off anyway makes things go faster.

For more information, go to www.tsa.gov

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