“TSA employees are less likely to report operational security or threat-relevant issues out of fear of retaliation from supervisors who fear further retaliation from their chain of command”, testified Mark Livingston, a program manager in the TSA’s Office of the Chief Risk Officer, who was demoted after reporting incidents of employee hazing and sexual harassment.
Advertisement
Flights were leaving as scheduled.
But the troubled agency also has serious personnel issues, which several whistleblowers brought to light at a recent House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. TSA encourages passengers to continue to arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor early.
“TSA is experiencing significant, unprecedented technical issues with its computer server allowing the automated screening of checked bags for explosives”. However, the alternative process is more time-consuming than their automated system.
“We are not seeing widespread flight delays, but many checked bags are missing flights”, Rodriguez said.
Video and photos from the airport showed hundreds of bags sitting in a parking lot between Terminal 3 and Terminal 4 that is usually used for special events. The airlines are going to have the baggage driven to nearby airports, including San Diego and Los Angeles, where it will be screened and then flown to its destinations.
“TSA is now bringing additional canine units from other airports and bringing in network specialists to address the situation and keep passengers safe and screen all bags”, Melendez said.
There’s no estimate on when the problem will be fixed.
According to the TSA, the inline baggage systems handle the bulk of checked luggage.
Sixteen airlines fly in and out of Sky Harbor, which is one of the nation’s busiest airports.
Advertisement
This will cut down on the amount of carry-on luggage fliers haul on planes and speed up inspections at the notoriously slow Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal wrote in a letter to a dozen major U.S. airlines.
