New TSA Pat-Downs Will Feel 'More Involved'

The Transportation Security Administration has adopted a new pat-down method, a consolidation of the previous procedures the agency employed and one that is said to feel more invasive. The new standardized pat-down is already in effect at airport security checkpoints and at other locations within the airport.

The TSA even informed local law enforcement of the change in case anyone was to report an “abnormal” federal frisking, according to a memo from an airport trade association obtained by Bloomberg News. Details on the new procedure are scant, but in a statement, the TSA said the new standardized pat-down "does not involve any different areas of the body than were screened in the previous standard pat-down procedure."

Previously, the TSA could choose between five different types of pat-downs if a passenger set off security flags that warranted a pat-down.

Bruce Anderson, a spokesman for the TSA, told Bloomberg that travelers who have gotten a pat-down in the past that wasn't involved will notice that the new pat-down is "more involved." Anderson also wrote in an email that passengers who have not previously experienced the standardized procedure may not realize that they did indeed receive the correct procedure and may alert local law enforcement.

Bloomberg reported the change was partly in response to a 2015 report that criticized aspects of the agency's screening procedures.

"Individuals transiting the TSA security checkpoint who have opted out of technology screening, or alarmed the technology or a canine team, will undergo a pat-down," the statement from TSA said. "Passengers may also receive a pat-down as part of our unpredictable security measures. TSA continues to adjust and refine our systems and procedures to meet the evolving threat and to achieve the highest levels of transportation security."

The TSA provides more information about the pat-down procedure on its website, stating that pat-downs are always given by officers of the same gender. Travelers can also request private screenings, accompanied by a companion, at any time.

Security procedures at airports are a touchy issue and are heavily disliked by passengers. Travelers routinely complain about screenings that they say cross a line. Most recently, Angela Rye, a CNN political commentator, described in graphic detail a pat-down she received at a Detroit airport.

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