New numbers show that the hellishly long, meltdown-inducing airport waits with which we grew painfully familiar early this summer appear to be a thing of the past in Chicago, at least according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office. This reduction in checkpoint wait times is a result of the roundtable discussion in May between the Mayor, Senator Dick Durbin, federal officials, city officials, airlines and the TSA about ways to reduce wait times in a secure way at both O’Hare and Midway Airports.
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At Midway, travelers wait an average of 10 minutes at peak travel times, down 55 minutes since May, officials said. They credited increased staffing and canine units plus weekly inter-agency meetings to refine staffing needs.
The TSA said, in many cases, travelers are simply forgetting they have a weapon on them. “I will continue to make certain that TSA has the necessary funding and proper plans in place to ensure security and efficiency at our nation’s airports in the long-term”. Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans said that’s one of the best performances in the country among the largest airports.
Agents want the traveling public to know that no guns are permitted at TSA checkpoints.
“Moving passengers through O’Hare Airport quickly and safely, without compromising security, is a challenging balancing act”, said Congressman Mike Quigley.
The shorter wait times came at a time when 4.5 percent more people came through O’Hare and 3 percent more traveled through Midway in June 2016 as compared with the previous year, officials said.
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With that presumably in mind, Congresswoman Robin Kelly spoke of the need to remaining watchful of future issues. In May, the wait times were at 1 hour and 45 minutes and just over an hour, respectively.
