Uncomfortable and "invasive" airport security pat-downs are here to stay, the top U.S. transportation security official said Sunday.

The TSA pat down procedures are proving invasive for many travelers this season. But for some, like a woman who had a prosthetic breast and a man with a colostomy bag malfunction, the pat down can be a nightmare. Video courtesy of Fox News.

The Transportation Security Administration has triggered a public outcry with wider use of graphic full-body scanners, or full-body pat-downs for those who decline the scans or who require secondary screening. The security measures come in response to the attempted airline bombing last Christmas, when a Nigerian passenger allegedly hid a bomb in his underwear and failed to detonate it properly.


"TSA is really the last line of defense for the U.S. government in trying to keep the traveling public safe," Mr. Pistole said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

In a statement later Sunday, Mr. Pistole struck a less strict tone though he didn't announce any alteration to the policy. "We welcome feedback and comments on the screening procedures from the traveling public, and we will work to make them as minimally invasive as possible while still providing the security that the American people want and deserve," he said.


A TSA official pats down an American Airlines passenger at the Gate D security checkpoint at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sunday. Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

The TSA on Friday agreed to let pilots skip the body scans and pat-downs, yielding to complaints from pilot groups about radiation from the machines, given how frequently pilots pass through security. Pilots also criticized the screening procedures as unnecessary since any pilot intent on terrorism could easily crash a plane, and they noted that some are allowed to be armed in the cockpit. The agency will still require pilots to be screened by metal detectors and to show identification.

The TSA has said radiation from the machines is minimal and shouldn't pose health concerns, but the effects of the radiation are being studied by medical researchers.

The new procedures have ignited outrage from some travelers, who have taken to the Internet to protest. Some are seeking to create chaos during the pre-Thanksgiving Day travel rush by urging fliers to opt out of the body scans, requiring TSA screeners to perform the lengthier pat-down.

The public reaction has also raised concerns in the business community, particularly industries reliant on air travel.

After Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mr. Pistole convened a recent meeting with travel industry CEOs to explain the TSA's new security procedures, a top U.S. Travel Association official emerged telling reporters the meeting was "informative but not entirely reassuring."

On Saturday, the Business Travel Coalition, which represents corporate travel managers, criticized the new procedures, saying "treating all passengers transiting the aviation system as if they are equal threats to national security represents worst practice because it is ineffective, costly and distractive of better practices."

"The overly aggressive pat downs represent citizen-mistreatment in the extreme, especially if used as 'punishment' when passengers opt out of full-body scans," said BTC Chairman Kevin Mitchell.

A TSA official checks the ticket of an American Airlines passenger at the Gate D security checkpoint Sunday at LaGuardia Airport. Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Pistole said that the airport procedures are part of a broader security net that includes intelligence gathering on potential threats. Both he and Ms. Napolitano have tried to curb some of the public outcry by noting that they've undergone the searches themselves.But other top government officials aren't so eager to embrace the practice.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked in an appearance Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation" whether she would submit to the new searches. "Not if I could avoid it," she said. "I mean, who would?"

President Barack Obama in a Saturday news conference following a NATO summit in Lisbon, was also asked about the stepped-up screening.

"Let me, first of all, make a confession: I don't go through security checks to get on planes these days, so I haven't personally experienced some of the procedures," Mr. Obama said.

He added that he asks at every weekly meeting with top national security officials whether there are better ways to meet security goals.

Mr. Obama noted that "in the aftermath of the Christmas Day bombing, our TSA personnel are, properly, under enormous pressure to make sure that you don't have somebody slipping on a plane with some sort of explosive device on their person."

Body scanners are still outnumbered by other screening machines, such as metal-detectors. Also, in most cases people pass through the machines without setting them off, negating the need for a pat-down.

Write to Evan Perez at evan.perez@wsj.com