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LaGuardia Passengers Say Travel Has Been Hassle Free

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- There were hugs and kisses at LaGuardia Airport Sunday as travelers headed home following the extended Thanksgiving weekend.

Despite a build up of concern ahead of the holiday season, many travelers who spoke to WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs said their flying experience was largely hassle free.

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WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reports

"We didn't even have the super, crazy scanners or the opt-out. We saw people handing out opt-out fliers which, no offense, but I laughed about that. I'm pretty happy with how things are going," Dan Schneider said as he and his family headed back to St. Louis.

"All that media commotion, there was nothing," Schneider said.

Experts said the new stepped up security measures involving full-body scanners and pat-downs were due, in part, to the 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot by a Nigerian man hiding explosives in his underwear.

High profile complaints from some passengers also led to pre-flight concerns for travelers. In one case a Colorado woman was subjected to a full-body pat-down after her artificial knee set off a metal detector. And a Michigan man was humiliated when a TSA pat-down ruptured his urostomy bag -- leaving him to travel in his urine-soaked pants.

But travelers heading back home Sunday seemed unfazed.

"It was pretty good," one woman from Atlanta said describing her experience moving through airport security. She told Xirinachs she was not subjected to body scanners.

"It was very smooth and even if I had the option of the scanners, I would have done it," another woman said, "I don't mind keeping our nation safe."

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