It’s a battle of security versus convenience, with passengers’ patience running short as lines grow longer. “Obviously, waiting 3 hours for what may be a 2-hour flight or a 90-minute flight is not acceptable”.
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Schumer says the dog teams could cut time spent going through security in half, and he predicted the lines would become even longer and slower without their addition at NY airports, among the busiest in the world.
Arrive at least two hours early for domestic flights and at least three hours before worldwide departures. We’re dealing this summer with increased travel volume, which obviously puts an added burden on our TSOs and increased demand on the system. “We encourage people to have appropriate expectations when they arrive at airports”.
“The approach that’s going to fix TSA is a balanced and comprehensive platform of policy adjustments: resource levels, resource allocation, and the marketing and expansion of innovative instruments such as the PreCheck trusted traveler program”, Dow said.
“We can no longer tolerate the continuing inadequacy of the TSA passenger services”, the letter obtained by ABC News reads. “Contemplate increased wait times as you travel”. Three major airports in NY were thinking of firing the TSA and hiring private security screeners if the problem is not solved as soon as possible.
“I hate to see people lose their jobs, but if it would make it go faster and be quicker I’d be all for it”, Nelson 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. The industry group even set up a website to facilitate the process, in which travelers can click on a button for Twitter or Instagram and have a pre-written message for their followers – with a TSA tag as well.
Asked if passengers will have to wait three hours in line this summer, Johnson said: “I’m hoping they don’t have to”.
“The long wait times we’re seeing now are a direct result of Congress’ failure to give TSA the money it needs to do its job”, said J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents airline screeners. And these fliers go through standard metal detectors rather than the explosive-detecting full-body scanners most pass through.
Johnson’s 10-point plan includes hiring more TSA officers, paying more overtime, deploying more canine teams and using airline workers to handle non-security functions at the checkpoints, such as moving bins.
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The agency also blamed passengers who are unprepared at screening checkpoints for adding to the delays. PreCheck enrollment costs $85 for five years and requires a background check and interview, although active military and regular fliers have several methods to mitigate the fee, Mark Jackson wrote in a Brad’s Deals blog.
