Neffenger, who has been under sustained criticism as the TSA has struggled to keep up with demand at airports, promised the committee changes to the system yesterday, including hiring more sniffer dogs.
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Officials say the security line problem with the Transportation Security Administration won’t ease until at least mid-June.
But we’re not out of the woods yet.
Charlotte’s TSA director told Channel 9 on Thursday that he has been working with airport officials and airlines to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
But the TSA also had a hand in its own woes.
Katko also called on his colleagues to pass another bill called the Checkpoint Optimization and Efficiency Act of 2016 that would give TSA personnel more flexibility to use the tools and resources they deem necessary to speed up the screening process.
Last week, American announced it will spend $4 million to hire outside contractors. “The security is in the knowledge and the oversight of these people doing these mundane jobs, but doing them in a way that shortens our lines and is more responsive”.
The funding shifts were aimed at reducing wait times that stretched to three hours at Chicago O’Hare and other airports.
Bonnie Allin, president of the Tucson Airport Authority, told the House Committee on Homeland Security how Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages created long lines at Tucson’s airport recently during the peak tourism season. The focus, however, needs to be stepped up, because long lines continue to heighten the anxiety of many passengers.
She also recommended that TSA consider reinstating a risk-based screening program that it canceled previous year because of high-profile lapses.
“This is a crisis that must be addressed before we head into the busy summer months of travel”, Katko said.
For the majority of US flights, passengers leaving Pearson will go through USA customs at the Toronto airport.
In anticipation of the busy summer travel, the airport has made some structural improvements.
But more lines mean more staff, which seems very unlikely due to T.S.A. budget cuts and a 10 percent drop in the number of full-time T.S.A. employees since 2013. Travelers themselves now report the wait times, sometimes inaccurately.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is the busiest airport in the US, wait times have also dropped in the last week.
“The law does allow an airport to ask for a private contract workforce”.
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One of the airport’s security checkpoints had been closed for a few weeks to upgrade two lanes with a new screening technology.
