Airlines say lines are long because the TSA is understaffed and that travel is expected to hit a record high this summer.
Advertisement
Former TSA Assistant Administrator Michael Restovich helped launch the agency in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
“There is a need to help support TSA”, said Daniel Zenk, a senior manager in Sea-Tac’s aviation operations division.
Neffenger stated that the airport security screening model remains essentially the same as when it first was developed more than a decade ago.
If you don’t want to chill out, you can always Zen-out – relax and get in touch with your spiritual side at your airport’s chapel.
“Earlier this week we had a breakdown here in Chicago”, Peter Neffenger, U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) administrator, told a news conference on Friday.
But the mayor apparently slammed the door on airport security privatization on Friday, saying it would take too long.
The week before, a technical problem with the TSA’s baggage-screening system at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport forced passengers to leave behind more than 3,000 pieces of luggage. The agents are part of more than 750 new TSA officers who are being added nationwide. Wednesday’s hearing is expected to address security concerns for passengers ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Menendez said he is continuing to lobby airlines to temporarily suspend checked baggage fees for the summer, a move he said would reduce security lines because more people would check bags rather than bring carry-ons through security. In addition, he is sending more bomb-sniffing dogs and dozens of additional security officers to Chicago. “I’m going to continue to watch this like a hawk, and insist that we begin to give people a much better experience”.
Some airlines have their own workers and contract employees taking over non security related functions for TSA agents in and around the checkpoints. But the 52-year-old points out that when traveling for business, “time is money”, so “you have to plan accordingly and you can spend less time making sales calls or visiting”.
That’s enough to buy a house in New York City, where the median home price is $616,100, according to real estate website Zillow, and still have a lot of change left over to scatter in coin baskets at TSA checkpoints.
The average time Sea-Tac passengers wait to pass through security checkpoints has steadied at 20 minutes, DeRoy said, although delays can occur during the busiest times. I don’t know what that was.
Advertisement
Just before spring break, TSA and the MAC consolidated six checkpoints in Terminal 1 into two in a $17 million overhaul, although the actual number of checkpoint lanes remained at 16.
