Metro To Ramp Up Service For Holiday Travelers

Metro says it will boost service this week to help Thanksgiving travelers get in and out of D.C. airports. The transit agency plans to have additional buses on standby to serve Dulles International Airport and BWI Marshall Airport -- that's in addition to the regular Metrorail service to Reagan National. Metrorail service will operate on a Sunday schedule Thanksgiving day, running from 7 a.m. to midnight.

Meanwhile, AAA Mid-Atlantic says more travelers will be heading out of town by car this holiday season. The travel club projects an 11 percent increase in the number of travelers leaving the area, with more than 95 percent opting to drive instead of fly.

The numbers come amid controversy over new airport screening procedures which involve either a full body scan or pat-down.

A loosely organized protest is asking travelers to opt out of the full-body scans over the holiday weekend, but the head of the Transportation Security Administration says the new technology increases safety and is urging passengers unhappy with the new policy not to hold up airport security lines.