Here’s a frequently asked flyer question: which airports have scanners? You know, those TSA x-ray machine things that send pictures of your naked body to some faceless TSA employee (yeah, no, we’re not crazy about those AIT scanners). Well, the answer is: most.

You’ve got a few choices when you get to the airport’s security screening checkpoint: a patdown, the scanner, or — with any luck — an old-fashioned metal detector. Learn a bit about each of those at a few major airports:

• Denver Airport and the Metal Detector

• Chicago Airport and the Patdown
• Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and the Scanner

Airport security is one reason why I love trains.

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Though polls show that most find the airport x-ray backscatter machines to be despicable (enough so to keep them from flying), others think that the machines keep them safe (evidence shows otherwise, but…). So, what will you do? Be able to see your laptop while taking the walk of shame, or choose the squeezee and lose sight of your laptop?

• COMMENT: Would You Walk Through a Full Body Scanner at the Airport?

Have you opted out of the full body scanner and had a TSA patdown under the new, more aggressively gropey guidelines? What did you think? Would you choose a patdown over the scanner again?

• COMMENT: Have You Had a TSA Patdown?

Related reading:

• What is the TSA’s Backscatter / Millimeter Wave Technology?
• Which Airports Have Full Body Scanners?

More TSA / Airport Security Reading: Airport Security Rules | How to Pack for Airport Security | TSA Blog | Air Travel for Beginners | Does LAX Have Scanners? | Does Atlanta Have Scanners? | Does the Albuquerque Airport Have Scanners? | Does JFK Have Scanners? | Does the Guam Airport Have Scanners?

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