Those are typical descriptions nowadays about the waiting times at airports for screening by Transportation Security Administration officials before passengers board their flights.
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“Still, as we approach the Memorial Day weekend and the beginning of summer, the public should expect longer wait times at some of the nation’s busiest airports, at certain times of the day”, he said.
While wait times at airports have gotten shorter, wait times to apply for PreCheck, a TSA travel program that prescreens passengers and allows those who qualify to go through shorter airport lines, remain long for those without appointments. Instead, it has reallocated resources from the Honolulu airport to others on the mainland, he said.
Appropriators already approved a $34 million reprogramming request to allow TSA to hire and train almost 800 new screeners and provide overtime for current ones.
Charlotte-Douglas will not be getting any of the additional 750 agents the TSA is hiring to speed things up, however, there will be more money for overtime during peak travel hours and the ability to hire as needed.
At Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta – known as the world’s busiest – all 16 lanes at the main security checkpoint were open Friday morning.
Everyone KHON2 talked to arrived earlier than usual, some four hours in advance. The airline anticipated longer lines, because TSA stated it would have two fewer canine units at the security lines. They had a lot of time to kill, Ceniceros said.
Airport screening delays have caused more than 70,000 American Airlines (AAL.O) customers and 40,000 checked bags to miss their flights this year, an executive for the airline told a USA congressional subcommittee on Thursday.
Even so, long lines are still a real problem around the country and passengers flying out should be prepared when it comes to their return flights.
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Erin Baldassari covers transportation.
