John Pistole says airport screening procedures 'will be adapted as conditions warrant.' | REUTERS TSA chief: Screening may evolve

Heeding a sudden furor, John Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, said in a Sunday afternoon statement to POLITICO that airport screening procedures “will be adapted as conditions warrant,” in an effort to make them “as minimally invasive as possible, while still providing the security that the American people want and deserve.”

TSA's new flexibility comes as the government gears up for a flood of travel over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Administration officials say any changes are more likely to be in the implementation of the security procedures than in the security measures themselves.


Pistole’s statement to POLITICO modified his vow a few hours earlier on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the procedures were " not going to change." Both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said over the weekend that the administration was continually looking for ways to refine the screening to make it less intrusive and frustrating.

Here is the full text of the statement from Pistole, a former deputy director of the FBI:

"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. We are constantly evaluating and adapting our security measures, and as we have said from the beginning, we are seeking to strike the right balance between privacy and security.

“In all such security programs, especially those that are applied nationwide, there is a continual process of refinement and adjustment to ensure that best practices are applied and that feedback and comment from the traveling public is taken into account. This has always been viewed as an evolving program that will be adapted as conditions warrant, and we greatly appreciate the cooperation and understanding of the American people.

“We cannot forget that less than one year ago a suicide bomber with explosives in his underwear tried to bring down a plane over Detroit. The terrorists allegedly behind the thwarted cargo attempt last month are out there bragging about how they will strike again.

“We all wish we lived in a world where security procedures at airports weren't necessary, but that just isn't the case."