Members of Congress weren’t pleased with the TSA’s tepid explanations.
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Hancock International Airport Executive Director Christina Callahan had to experience a delay before flying down to Washington for the hearing.
The head of the beleaguered Transportation Security Administration told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday the long passenger lines at screening checkpoints at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport this month should have been avoided.
Last week, Chicago’s two major airports were recommending travelers arrive three hours ahead of their domestic flight times to get through the security checkpoints. The remaining 18% said long lines would not change their travel plans at all.
With a record 231.1 million passengers expected to take to the skies this summer, United States airlines and airports are not taking any chances. “The more people who I can enroll in a trusted traveler program, the more efficiently we can operate the system. So that’s part of what we’re contemplating with this bill.” .
NOT LEAVING LAS VEGAS: In April 2009, a man who appeared to be intoxicated climbed over a gate topped with barbed wire at McCarran International Airport, climbed into a helicopter and began preparing for a flight before the helicopter owner confronted him. They are also pushing the TSA Pre Check program, which allows travelers to pay a fee, fill out some paperwork and become eligible for a shorter line.
Addressing concern raised by small airports, the Homeland Security Committee introduced a bill on Thursday to let local TSA make staffing decisions, rather than wait for higher-up approval before adding or rearranging lines. But during slower hours, the TSA staffs fewer lanes and that might cause backups. This strong leadership team and the talented workforce at O’Hare have made immediate adjustments that have dramatically improved passenger throughput, even as volume increased beyond 90,000 passengers a day. Some passengers can still randomly be placed in PreCheck based on their age or if an explosive-detecting dogs first screen them, but those are small numbers.
They’ve been spending millions to hire contractors to instruct fliers about the security process and help with other non-screening tasks at checkpoints.
Kirk has called for the resignation of TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger if the wait times do not decrease by Memorial Day on Monday. Katko wants to pass a solution before the vacation travel season sets in. A spokesman for the airport said the airport’s peak wait time has been reduced by a third.
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The lines resulted from a combination of fewer screeners, more passengers and tighter security.
