Experienced travelers well versed in how to find cheap airplane tickets and discount
travel packages should think twice before purchasing clothing that will keep parts of their bodies from showing up clearly on full body scanner images viewed by airport security personnel.
Concerns about privacy are tempting some travelers to purchase security resistant clothing. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has responded that travelers wearing security resistant garments are virtually guaranteed pat-downs.
Marc Carey has come out with a line of "privacy underwear." He offers T-shirts, panties, and boxer briefs that have strategically located logos with special ink that he claims blurs private parts seen by TSA agents.
Marc insists that his clothes are not protest garments, rather a "reasonable compromise for travelers to allow the TSA to do their job, but allow people to travel without a great deal of inconvenience and preserve their dignity."
"Flying Pasties" is another product line that offers reusable vanity inserts that obscure travelers' private areas when they pass through airport scanners.
The TSA warns that wearing any clothing which blurs what screeners are able to see will likely result in more scrutiny at the airport. The agency says "If there is something shielding an area and we don't know what's under it, we have to conduct a pat-down."
Currently there are 486 full body scanners deployed at 78 U.S. airports. Although some travelers have expressed concern over the graphic images they produce, a recent traveler survey found that having to take off shoes prior to going through a metal detector ranks as a greater nuisance than either pat-down body searches or full body X-ray scanning.