There’s some evidence the TSA is now getting the balance right.
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Travelers packed the Honolulu airport to take advantage of the three-day weekend.
Beyond the lengthy security lines, lawmakers have been pressing the TSA to address allegations of mismanagement.
“I think we’re going to be okay”, said Kelly Johnson, airport director. It’s a marketing problem on the part of the TSA and on the part of the government. Politics, too, have played a role.
Congress, which now has the nerve to act huffy and point fingers, foolishly cut funding for the TSA.
“So if someone resigns for any reason, I can immediately get someone in to backfill them”, said Kevin Frederick of the TSA. TSA and others say steep fees for checked bags on most airlines have compelled passengers to bring more carry-ons aboard, increasing the load of baggage that has to be screened at checkpoints.
Reform has proven hard.
Mr. Hoggan, reassigned Monday to other duties by TSA Administrator Peter V. Neffenger, didn’t inspire confidence.
Airports are bracing for record crowds as more than 231 million passengers fly from June through August.
To many, the TSA’s task is Sisyphean.
“It’s an enormous challenge [that we need to] talk about … as honestly as possible if we’re going to find real solutions”, Sen.
Airport officials stress that the miles of fences, gates and guardhouses protecting their properties are secure and say many intruders are quickly caught.
The list of disadvantages includes the public’s unrealistic expectations when it comes to wait times, the time to implement the private process– it would take at least 18 months- and significant uncertainty because no large worldwide hub has ever transitioned from a federalized workforce to the private model.
Mr. Harrington related one incident from 2008 where he had to confront a group of Marines returning home from Afghanistan, including a wounded vet in a wheelchair, over something in their luggage. “I wouldn’t expect that it would go away any time soon”.
In a new statement, the TSA placed blame on passengers, claiming that individuals are at fault for showing up to checkpoints unprepared. Doing so will help move the line faster for everyone.
But for roughly 10 percent of them who are air travelers, all eyes will be on the Transportation Security Administration as passengers contend with what are feared to be nightmarish security lines at the nation’s airports.
TSA PreCheck members don’t remove their shoes, coats or belts during the screening and can leave their laptops in their bags.
But so far only about 7.3 million people are enrolled in the TSA’s four trusted-traveler programs, including 2.7 million in TSA PreCheck.
But outside the bureaucratic bickering in Washington, it turns out that some of the chief improvements may have come from frustrated airline executives.
Harrison Pavlasek, departing for Texas, said he had been prepared to make the best of the situation if lines were long.
American Airlines also said this week that more than 70,000 of its customers have failed to catch their flights because of security wait times. “Secondly, the low gas prices”.
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American, Delta and United airlines have vowed to spend $4 million each to hire more checkpoint workers.
