Pilots, flight attendants, and liberty groups are protesting that pat-down procedures go "extremely voyeuristic and intrusive."
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) pat-down procedure is part of a general tightening of air security that includes new full-body scanners. If the scan shows something strange or a passenger declines to go through the machine, a TSA officer will perform a pat-down search – a procedure some say borders on the obscene.
"It's more than just patting you down. It's very intrusive and very insane. I wouldn't let anyone touch my daughter like that," said one passenger. "We're not common criminals."
An activist group has launched WeWontFly.com, protesting at the security checks, which calls on the TSA to remove its "porno-scanners" and "gropers".