Half in survey say airport patdowns go too far

Half of Americans say the enhanced passenger security patdowns at U.S. airports go too far, according to a poll published on Tuesday just before the busy holiday travel season.

But nearly two-thirds of those surveyed in the Washington Post-ABC News poll support the new full-body security-screening machines at the airports, as most say they put higher priority on preventing terrorism than protecting personal privacy.

The poll found that 50 percent said the new patdown searches were unjustified, while 48 percent supported them and 2 percent had no opinion.

The recently adopted screening methods that have drawn complaints from passengers and lawmakers in Congress rely on highly revealing full-body imaging scanners and physical patdowns for travelers who choose to opt out of the scans.