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SFO Prepares Contingency For Rumored Pat-Down Protest

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Passengers at San Francisco International who decide to undergo a pat-down instead of undergo a full body scan during the holiday travel season may find themselves in a separate security line.

The airport's contingency plan comes amid a loosely organized protest over the Transportation Security Administration's new checkpoint procedures that's been rumored across the Internet.

The strategy of National Opt Out day is to snarl Thanksgiving holiday traffic over what organizers call technological strip searches and government groping.

KCBS' Holly Quan Reports:

Monday is expected to be the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving week at San Francisco International Airport. Historically Wednesday has actually been a close second. Airport spokesman Mike McCarron expects 120,000 travelers the day before Thanksgiving.

He noted that the scanners have been used at SFO for more than a year with almost no complaint.

Mineta San Jose International Airports has had full body scanners since June and reports no complaints. A spokeswoman at Oakland International Airport said screeners there are prepared for Thanksgiving day travel.

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