TSA to expand pat-down searches

Agency won’t say exactly what new procedure entails

The Transportation Security Administration has declined to say exactly where and how employees will be touching air travelers as part of the more invasive physical pat-down procedure it recently ordered.

But the agency does expect some passengers to consider the examination unusual. In fact, the TSA decided to inform local police just in case anyone calls to report an “abnormal” federal frisking, according to a memo from an airport trade association obtained by Bloomberg News. The physical search, for those selected to have one, is what the agency described as a more “comprehensive” screening, replacing five separate kinds of pat-downs it previously used.

The decision to alert local and airport police raises a question of just how intimate the agency’s employees may get.

On its website, the TSA says employees “use the back of the hands for patdowns over sensitive areas of the body. In limited cases, additional screening involving a sensitive area patdown with the front of the hand may be needed to determine that a threat does not exist.”

Now, security screeners will use the front of their hands on a passenger in a private screening area if one of the prior screening methods indicates the presence of explosives, according to a “security notice” that Airports Council InternationalNorth America sent its U.S. members following a March 1 conference call with TSA officials.

“Due to this change, TSA asked FSDs (field security directors) to contact airport law enforcement and brief them on the procedures in case they are notified that a passenger believes a (TSA employee) has subjected them to an abnormal screening practice,” ACI wrote.

The TSA screens about 2 million people daily at U.S. airports. The agency said it doesn’t track how many passengers are subject to pat-down searches.

Physical screening has long been one of the public’s strongest dislikes regarding airport security protocols.