“While privatization in transportation remains controversial, the 22 airports in the country that now use private contractors to handle security are more immune to internal changes within the TSA – meaning that, beyond accounting for seasonal crowds, it’s generally been business as usual at these airports”, writes the travel magazine.
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This week, TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told Congress the agency is adding 768 new screeners by mid-June, most to be sent to the nation’s busiest airports. The American Airlines non-stop to Tampa was going to be overstuffed with crying babies, stressed parents, restless 6-year-olds and travelers trying to fill an overhead bin with more stuff than would fit into a Winnebago.
“The American people are fed up”, said Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas). “This will allow TSA to work directly with its stakeholders on technology and information-sharing while being focused on the real threats to our transportation systems”, he said during the hearing. It also comes just days before the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, the start of the the summer travel season. Airlines and airports have also launched their own initiatives.
“I knew that that would dramatically increase the number of people back in the standard lines”, said Neffenger, “and we weren’t staffed at the level we needed to be to man all the lines”. Airlines, which make millions of dollars on extra fees, did not take to that idea fondly.
Neffenger acknowledged it is a problem saying there are four times as many carry-ons coming through security compared to what gets checked.
He also said air travel is up significantly – 740 million people are expected to travel this year, that’s up by nearly 100 million from just three years ago.
The push to steer travelers to expedited screening took on added importance as after some passengers in Chicago had to spend the night at O’Hare International Airport after TSA staff failed to adjust screening parameters to accommodate a huge influx of passengers on May 15. That was a 4 percent increase over the previous record, set in 2014.
McCaul pressed Neffenger about the abrupt ouster of the agency’s top security official.
Earlier this week, the head of security for TSA, Kelly Hoggan, was replaced after the House Oversight Committee found he received more than $90,000 in bonuses over a 13-month period.
Thousands of travelers have missed flights in recent weeks due to TSA officer shortages at airports like O’Hare and Atlanta. And if you’re at risk of missing your flight, begin the communication process early, he says. News of mile-long security lines and missed flights at airports across the U.S. threaten to dampen the holiday spirit with the unofficial start of summer kicking in this Memorial Day weekend. Enhanced security measures since then, combined with a rise in airline travel due to the improving economy and low oil prices, have resulted in long waits at major airports.
The TSA says it is now processing about 10,000 applications a day-more than double the daily average this time a year ago.
Delta also said it had invested almost $1 million in two additional checkpoint lanes that opened this week at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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“Why don’t we say anyone who has Pre-Check, the airlines can’t charge you baggage fees”. While American Express cardholders can enjoy access to priority lanes for Delta flights at select airports, Citi Prestige cardholders can opt for a quicker screening lane for American Airlines flights.
