The Hill News

A large majority of relatively frequent fliers believe that controversial enhanced screening procedures at the nation's airports are worth it to beef up security, according to a new poll.

Seventy-one percent of people who have flown at least twice in the past year say they are willing to sacrifice some personal privacy for the sake of security by undergoing full body scans or pat downs, according to a new Gallup poll. Twenty-seven percent say they are not. 

{mosads}The numbers, which come on one of the busiest travel days of the year, indicate the uproar over the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) new airport security policies might not as widespread as some believe. 

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have put the TSA on the defensiv! e over the limited use of full body scans and pat-downs, which are designed to prevent another incident like the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing during the bustling holiday travel season.

The White House this week defended the policy as a necessary security precaution, but said it would be open to considering more effective methods of searching passengers.

But fifty-seven percent of frequent fliers told Gallup that a full body scan would not bother them and 42 percent, a plurality, say that a pat-down would not be bothersome.

About a quarter of frequent airline travelers say they have already went through a full body scan this year and 15 percent say have been through a pat-down, more than the one percent of passengers that the White House said have gone through enhanced screenings.

Among those who have undergone the procedures, more than two-thirds say that it did not bother them.

Gallup surveyed 3,01! 8 adults between Nov. 19-21. Among the 757 people in that samp! le who s ay they have flown two or more times in the past year, the margin of error is four percentage points.