DALLAS - (KRT) - In the old days, the indignities of air travel involved intrusive elbows from seatmates and toddlers kicking your seatback.
In the last few years, they included removing your shoes to get through security and having your nail clippers confiscated.
And now this: full-body pat-downs - including bra checks - for people who set off metal detectors or are unlucky enough to be randomly selected.
The Transportation Security Administration changed its screening procedures in September. But infrequent fliers could encounter the expanded searches for the first time during the holiday season.
TSA officials say the new measures are necessary to thwart terrorism. And a passenger advocacy group says that searches are simply a sign of the times. But some women are protesting the pat-downs by mounting legal challenges or by avoiding air travel altogether.
Merely a mildly embarrassing inconvenience for some, the pat-downs have brought other women to tears. One woman likened it to a public breast exam.
And no one, not even Grandma, is automatically exempt, according to the TSA. Some people are randomly selected by computer. Others are pulled aside after setting off metal detectors.
The intensified searches were implemented in the wake of airplane bombings in Russia, where two women smuggled explosives onto separate flights.
"We would be remiss not to have enhanced our levels of screening," TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said. "If there is a threat or something suspicious, we need to make sure we resolve that alarm."
Traveler Debra Quarton-Pryce isn't convinced that the skies are safer. But she is certain that the searches are shameful.
The California resident was subjected to the screening last month before boarding a flight from San Francisco to Vancouver. The screener "was touching all of my rear. She was touching all of my breast area. That's when I said, `Wait a minute.'"
TSA employees are permitted to touch passengers' most sensitive areas - breasts, buttocks and genitals - with the back of their hands. But the process seemed invasive and unnecessary, Quarton-Pryce said.
"You're not going to stop any terrorists this way," she said. "You're just humiliating people."
Quarton-Pryce had read about the security changes. But that didn't prepare her for the experience, which unfolded in a public area with other travelers nearby.
"I said, `I'm not a criminal,' because that's exactly how she made me feel," she said.
A frequent traveler, Quarton-Pryce is less inclined to fly these days. And she's not alone.
After an embarrassing and infuriating airport screening, Rhonda Gaynier decided to drive from her home in New York City to Michigan for Thanksgiving.
Gaynier is exploring filing a class-action lawsuit after a screening in Tampa, Fla. And she said she wouldn't set foot in an airport until the TSA changes its policies.
"You want to pat women down because they might be hiding explosives in their breasts - are you kidding me? They should start patting men down in their crotch," she said. "This is such a violation of my body so that I can fly. This is outrageous."
Men also are patted down, but women have been more vocal in expressing concerns. The underwire in some bras sets off screeners' metal-detecting wands, prompting TSA employees to touch that area with their hands.
"It's not an acceptable behavior anywhere to let someone touch your breasts," said Jen Rotar of Berthoud, Colo. "And they expect you to let them do this in public."
TSA guidelines stipulate that employees offer passengers a private screening, but Rotar and several other women said that option was never mentioned.
Rotar, who was juggling a crying toddler as she passed through airport security in Oregon last month, said she was patted down and asked to lift her shirt to expose her stomach while standing in full view of several men.
"At the end of the security gauntlet, my child and I were left utterly humiliated, violated and sobbing in the passenger lounge," she wrote to the TSA in a letter of complaint.
David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said he has heard rumblings among his members, primarily passengers expressing concern and surprise about the screenings.
"The issue is: What's the alternative?" he said. "Until we have a better plan, we really don't have an alternative."
The experience isn't pleasant for the workers doing the pat-downs, either. At Screeners Central, a private Web site frequented by TSA screeners, a recent editorial acknowledged travelers' discomfort and detailed life on the other side of the wand.
"Conducting a pat-down of a person who hasn't bathed, smells of urine or feces, or has bad breath is not fun," one worker explained. "Probing the armpits, crotches and chest area of strangers is not something to write home about or something that professionals get giddy about."
McCauley of the TSA said the agency is looking at new technology that could search for explosives in a less intimate ways.
Several airports are testing trace detection portals, which release several quick "puffs" and analyze the air for explosives. Another device, known as a "backscatter" X-ray, can see through clothes. But it has triggered complaints because the machine provides a detailed outline of the body.
Since the new procedures began, the TSA said it has received 239 "contacts" from people, some with questions, some with complaints. That number does not include complaints made to screening supervisors at the gates.
The agency emphasized that the number is small compared with the thousands of passengers who receive pat-downs each day.
Travelers such as Keren Solomon said they would not know where to complain and aren't convinced it would do any good.
Solomon, a market researcher who splits time between San Francisco and New York City, said the screening she endured in September seemed intrusive. "It sort of feels like someone is doing a breast exam at your doctor's office," she said.
McCauley said she understands women's concerns about the pat-down procedures.
"I do want to communicate: I'm a woman. I have to travel all the time," she said. "I'm obviously biased, but I want to know that I'm going to make it to my destination."
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WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT PAT-DOWN SEARCHES
When will I be subjected to a pat-down?
Pat-down searches are mandatory if the metal detector sounds, but screeners can also require them based on visual observations. You can also be selected by a computerized system that checks the backgrounds of airline passengers. Children younger than 12 are not targeted for extra screening and are usually selected only if they set off the metal detector.
What does a pat-down consist of?
After walking through the metal detector, you may be asked to stand aside. With gloves, a screener of the same gender will run a metal-detecting wand over you and use the palms of his or her hands to feel your back, arms, torso and legs for any objects.
Can they touch my breasts, crotch and buttocks?
Yes, but only with the back of their hands, according to TSA policy. The screening is intended to check the underwire and cups of the bra, and screeners generally check underneath, above and between the breasts. You will never be asked to expose sensitive areas to a screener. If you have a body piercing, tell the screener. You will be allowed to go into a private room alone to remove the piercing.
Will they do the pat-down privately?
Screeners are required to offer private rooms for pat-downs. If that is not offered, you can request private screening. You can also request that another TSA employee witness the procedure. Parents can accompany a child, but relatives can't watch except under special circumstances. A screener will take your belongings to the private room, and they will always be visible.
Is there any way to avoid it?
There is no way to completely avoid pat-downs, but you can lessen the chance by removing your jacket and shoes and taking all objects out of your pockets before walking through the metal detector, the TSA says. Frequent fliers note that buying a one-way ticket at the last minute and traveling long distances with little luggage can trigger the computerized selection system.
How do I raise objections?
If you believe the screening was inappropriate, you should immediately ask to talk to a screening supervisor. You can also obtain a feedback form at any checkpoint.
How do I make complaints later?
Contact the TSA at 1-866-289-9673 or e-mail
TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov. If you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against by the TSA, you can contact the civil rights office at 1-877-336-4872 or
TSA.OCR-ExternalCompliance@dhs.gov.
Where can I go for more information?
www.tsa.gov
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Civilized Debate 
I did actually say something about it at the time........they just shrugged there shoulders. 
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10:15 a.m.....Emily Debra....7 Lbs. 10 Ozs....21" in length. She has a little dark hair...moves her lips and mouth so sweetly...has pretty petite features...thank you God!! 
