“TSA will set up a working security lane with volunteer passengers to show the difference in the amount of time it takes a group of passengers who arrive at the checkpoint prepared for screening versus a second group of passengers who are not prepared”, the agency said. “I don’t know if we can fit them all”, Desjadon said.
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In an effort to alleviate the massive headache that awaits airline passengers this summer, TSA announced that it plans to add 768 new screening officers to the country’s busiest airports by the end of June.
According to the TSA, a few things are making security lines unbearable, such as a steady decrease of budgeted TSA staffers over the years; more robust screenings thanks to laxness on the part of the agency; and the spike in airlines charging for checked bags, prompting more travelers to bring carry-on luggage and testing the “one carry-on, one personal item” rule. Travelers can fill out an application online and it then takes some time for the government to approve the application and schedule an in-person interview, typically at an airport.
He said a lot of other passengers were more frustrated than he was.
Waits to clear security at major airports, including Newark and LaGuardia, stretched to an hour or more this past week, thanks to a shortage of Transportation Security Administration staff and more thorough screening in the wake of terrorist attacks overseas.
TSA is under growing pressure to fix the long lines. In 2014 they and their air carrier members successfully lobbied the Congress to eliminate their airlines’ responsibility to help pay for the TSA. She also said signing up for TSA PreCheck didn’t help her much this time around. “Starts in baggage claim!”
Since about $3.5 billion in passenger security fees was collected in fiscal 2015, that tells us the airline share would have provided that same amount to support screening and other airport security services.
By midmorning Friday, Atlanta’s snarled, serpentine security lines had dissipated, and passengers were moving through checkpoints, CNN staffers there reported.
The average maximum wait time for commuters at Kennedy Airport rose 82% between March 15 and April 15 compared to the same period a year ago, according to Port Authority data. “Contemplate increased wait times as you travel”. It was not immediately known how numerous airport’s 16 airlines faced bag delays, but Southwest was significantly affected, Melendez said.
A few large airports now use private screening firms to manage security: San Francisco International Airport in California and Kansas City International Airport in Missouri have a significant amount of air travelers.
TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger blamed the long lines on a loss of thousands of employees in 2014 that the agency has yet to replace.
The Transportation Security Administration has fewer screeners and has tightened security procedures.
“And that was in the face of significantly higher traffic volume”.
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A TSA app, called My TSA, provides information about checkpoint wait times to all travelers, yet there are no guarantees that the information is accurate.
