The somewhat embarrassing practice of patting down wheeled air travelers may be coming to an end.

Japan Airlines, in a return to what might be called civility, has developed a bamboo wheelchair for use at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

The bamboo wheelchair enables users to pass more smoothly through metal detectors at security gates without triggering the all to common metal wheelchair initiated feel up, whoops, pat down.

The airline and a workshop in Oita Prefecture, known for bamboo production, jointly developed the chair, which has no metal parts and is 90 percent bamboo, including the brake.

The only parts that are not bamboo are the tires and shock absorbers, which are rubber, and the wheels and axles, which are reinforced plastic.

The developers say that the wheelchair is comfortable and has passed endurance tests.

The wheelchairs will be trialed at two airports in Japan starting January and February, 2010.

I guess the security crews will have to find another way to get their kicks.