At Chicago’s O’hare International Airport TSA says it’s “flooding the zone” after more than 450 passengers, stuck in security screening lines, didn’t make it onto their flights overnight Sunday and Monday.
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All right, and now to the latest on those massive airport security lines.
The Transportation Security Agency is looking for ways to cut down on security checkpoint wait times – which could be hours.
The lines are so bad, airports have taken to hired clowns (San Diego) and even miniature horses (Cincinnati) to entertain frustrated passengers.
The 15-year-old Transportation Security Administration now has a massive annual budget of almost $7.6 billion and a workforce of almost 60,000.
Atlanta, Seattle and New York LaGuardia airports have threatened to get rid of TSA workers and hire their own screeners. Jeh Johnson warned passengers that “there will be wait times” at checkpoints.
The staffing numbers are what the TSA says it can afford based on congressional appropriations.
“The number of passengers is growing faster than the infrastructure on the ground”, said Engel. More flyers and fewer TSA officers drove wait times up to unbearable levels.
“That decision has come home to roost”, said Nick Calio, president of the airline trade group. He described his letter spelling out American’s efforts to help shrink TSA lines as a way to “fill (employees) in on some of our efforts to address the situation”.
His next stop was Reagan National Airport, another location where you can get PreChecks done.
The Transportation Security Administration chief has apologized for long lines at airports nationwide with a special apology to hundreds who missed flights from Chicago over the weekend.
Two U.S. senators have asked airlines to stop charging bag fees during the summer. Sen. “We need to give TSA the resources they need to provide the screeners to make sure that people can move through, and in an efficient way”.
According to Airlines for America, more than 231 million passengers are expected to fly this summer, including 30 million on worldwide flights.
The hours-long lines have at least one member of Congress calling for Neffenger to resign if he can’t fix the problem by Memorial Day.
The TSA has announced the hiring of more than 750 officers by mid-June and added more part time and overtime hours to help alleviate some of the congestion. Very long wait lines.
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Over the three-month period ending August 31, the trade group expects an average of 95,500 more airline passengers a day than last summer.
