Americans Warming Up to Airport Security

Although the Transportation Security Administration has come under heavy fire from online activists and government committees recently, a new survey from the Travel Leaders Group shows that Americans appear to be growing more accustomed to the variety of security measures they are likely to encounter at airports.

According to a press release from PR Newswire, 855 consumers from across the U.S. were interviewed over a variety of forums, including social media, and 66.2 percent of them claim to be satisfied with today’s airport security measures, which is up nearly 6 percent from 2011. Only 17 percent said they were unsatisfied.

"What's your level of satisfaction with airport security today?"

	2012	2011	2010
Satisfied	66.2%	60.2%	72.9%
Neither	16.8%	18.0%	13.6%
Unsatisfied	17.0%	21.8%	13.5%

In addition, nearly three-quarters (74.4 percent) of survey-takers noted that they do not have concerns about full-body airport scanners.

"Do you have concerns about the use of full-body scanners at airport security check-points?"

	2012	2011	2010
Yes	25.6%	27.8%	81.7%
No	74.4%	72.2%	81.7%

For the 25.6 percent who did indicate that they had concerns, top reasons were listed as:

Potential known or unknown health risks: 44 percent
Privacy issues: 27.9 percent
Question effectiveness of scanners: 9.1 percent

Previous concerns in 2011 and 2010 were similar, with the addition of security delays and specifically the potential for radiation.

The survey also addressed TSA’s newly implemented PreCheck program, which allows travelers to proceed through expedited screening after paying $100 and providing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection department with additional personal information, including submitting to a live interview and being fingerprinted.

Roughly half of the consumers who participated in the survey were willing to participate in the program, with 21.2 percent saying that they were willing to try anything to speed up the process. Only 11.2 percent said they were unsure about participating.