I like my family a lot, but I’ve never been into flying back to my home state of Indiana for Thanksgiving. It’s not like Christmas, where you have basically a week you can conceivably take off (if you have the right kind of job and/or vacation days to use), you’re rushing to get somewhere for a Thursday and back by the next Monday.
Apparently, I am in the minority on this one: according to outlets like every TV news broadcast ever and even the good old Chron are warning us that a whole bunch of folks will be flying this Thanksgiving.
SFO says they expect a 4% increase in the number of travelers over last year, adding up to 1.2 million people flying in and out of SFO between for this holiday week.
Add to that Wednesday’s National Opt-Out Day, in which air passengers are encouraged to decline to be full-body scanned during the security screening, and to get the “enhanced” (insert “happy ending” joke here) pat-down instead.
Writing for the Press Democrat, Appeal pal Cathy Bussewitz tells you what travelers can expect at SFO, saying that “if the security officers viewing the full-body images notice an ‘anomaly,’ which could be caused by a forgotten cell phone or hair comb in the pocket, they’ll let tell the TSA officers via radio to give the passenger a pat-down.”
Hair comb? Pardon me while I stop my high school boyfriend from passing through security!
According to some, like the fun-loving AP, if enough people participate in this protest movement, “longer lines, bigger delays and hotter tempers” could result. No word yet on exactly what might get hot if the TSA touches your junk.
All this sounds like a miserable time, but, for many, the rewards (family, food, etc) outweigh the hassle. And I get that — my sister just had a baby last weekend and I’d love to go back to see her! And I will, just not this week.
How about you? Are you flying for the holiday, and if you are, will you submit to a scan? Let’s hear it!
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