Despite some tough talking there was little if any sign of a passenger revolt at many major US airports about tighter security, with few declining the X-ray scan that can peer through clothes.
Many travellers said the stepped-up measures made them feel safer and were, in any case, unavoidable.
A loosely organised internet campaign is urging people to refuse the scans on Wednesday in what is being called National Opt-Out Day. The extra time needed to physically search people could cause a cascade of delays at dozens of major airports, including those in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta.
Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole pleaded with passengers for understanding and urged them not to join the boycott on one of the busiest US travels day of the year because it is the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday.
"We all wish we lived in a world where security procedures at airports weren't necessary," he said, "but that just isn't the case."
About two-thirds of Americans support using the full-body scanners to increase security, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll . But half of the 514 adults surveyed by phone said the more rigorous pat-downs go too far.
"Just one or two recalcitrant passengers at an airport is all it takes to cause huge delays," said Paul Ruden, a spokesman for the American Society of Travel Agents, which has warned its more than 8,000 members about delays.
More than 400 imaging units are being used at about 70 airports. Since the new procedures began on November 1, 34 million travellers have gone through checkpoints and less than 3 % are patted down.
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