U.S. officials on Monday scrambled to calm the furor over invasive airport screening and pat-downs, trying to avoid boycotts ahead of the holiday season.
John Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), told NBC's "Today" that "a challenge that we face every day" is "balancing the security that everybody wants ... with the privacy that everybody wants."
"The bottom line is, everybody wants to arrive safely at their destination," he said on CNN's "American Morning."
Pistole was on national television after enhanced screening and pat-down measures introduced by the TSA raised concerns from the general public and reports of passenger revolts.
The most controversial of the newly-introduced measures was intensive frisking aimed at finding hidden explosives or weapons. Air travelers at some airports have to pass through full-body scanners that see through their cloths. Those who decline the screening were subjected to intrusive pat-downs.
"We're always looking at ways that we can evolve our technology and our protocols for how we go about doing this. In the short- term, there will not be any changes," Pistole said of the full- body screening, while noting "we're going to look at how can we do the most effective screening in the least invasive way."
The United States is having Thanksgiving holiday this week, which will see a flood of air travels starting Wednesday. Airlines expect 24 million people to travel over the holiday. An Internet organized boycott of full-body screening is also scheduled for Wednesday, which calls on travelers to refuse the scans.
The administration is worried that if passengers do participate in the boycott, it would cause severe delays to air travel. Pistole urged travelers not to take part in the boycott, saying it only serves to "tie up people who want to go home and see their loved ones."
Xinhua/ Editor: Mu Xuequan
