If you’ve ever found yourself racing to catch your flight with your shoes, belt, coat, and luggage in hand after being held up by long security lines, it’s quite possible you left something else of value behind such as a cell phone, laptop, or cash.
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Travelers are screened by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers at a security check point at O’Hare Airport on June 2, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. Last year’s collective TSA haul has almost doubled since 2008, when the agency reported more than $383,000 in unclaimed change.
People who leave laptops or wallets at the airport security checkpoint nearly always rush back to get it. But do they return for the pennies left in the bottom of the plastic bin after they’ve retrieved all the items they emptied from their pockets?
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee, said his panel will consider the funding request.
Security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport stretched through the atrium Friday morning with wait times of nearly an hour.
According to Christian Beckner, deputy director of the George Washington University Center for Cyber & Homeland Security, the TSA must increase the number of security officers by 10% to 15% to cut the wait times to a “level that the public will deem acceptable”. The Transportation Security Administration is suggesting a two-hour pre-boarding time for domestic travel and a three-hour pre-boarding time for worldwide travel due to a shortage of security personnel. A few days ago the TSA asked Congress for more money to hire and train personnel to deal with the massive summer crowds, and said it would up its staff at security checkpoints to speed things up.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State began hitting more soft targets in Europe, including the downing of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt past year and the attacks at the Brussels airport last month, which resulted in heightened security levels in the U.S.
“People are going to be irate when the summer comes and these lines materialize”, Grella said.
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“There’s not enough officers”, Burke said. “However, the lines can change very rapidly during peak travel times so passengers should check the site frequently”.
