Members of Congress said earlier this month that they were angry to learn that Hoggan received a $90,000 bonus package despite reports of problems within the agency.
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The union for transportation security officers on Tuesday urged the U.S. Congress to pay for 6,000 more full-time workers who conduct screenings to alleviate long lines at U.S. airports, a problem that caused a shakeup in the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s management. Part of that reduction is from an expected increase in participation in expedited screening, called TSA PreCheck, which didn’t materialize, he said.
If the TSA were in charge of municipal garbage collection or offshore oil exploration, you might expect that privatizing its subsidiary branches would lead to innovative procedures, new technology, or an evolving set of best practices. “We’re doing better now”.
Checkpoint officers are also scrutinizing bags more closely, after an inspector general report a year ago found that screeners often failed to detect weapons.
Neffenger said the agency removed Kelly Hoggan from his post as head of security Monday because the agency is seeking a “different approach”, not because of wrongdoing.
“We encourage people to have the appropriate expectations when they arrive at airports”, he said recently at Reagan National Airport outside Washington.
Air travelers in security lines have heard the instructions.
A week ago, when Chicago O’Hare had hundreds of travelers stranded overnight after missing their flights because of security lines. Imagine: One airport might let passengers keep their shoes on, while another might let passengers bring water, wine, or shampoo on board.
The issue came to a head in recent weeks when thousands of passengers in Chicago missed flights because of lengthy wait times.
The agency has promised to speed the hiring of an additional 768 security agents, possibly by mid-June, in an effort to cut the wait times at security checkpoints, even as the number of travelers increases during the summer vacation months. Lines as long as 30-40 minutes were present during the peak spring break travel times.
Airlines and airports nationwide are chipping in by having staffers perform non-security functions at checkpoints, such as moving bins or reminding travelers what to put in bins.
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In addition, several employees who say they were punished with reassignments to other airports after filing whistleblower complaints have alleged that Hoggan played a role in their forced transfers.
