Hawaiian Airlines, TSA personnel and travelers were ready for the rush, which helped.
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The Chief of Security for TSA was recently fired in response to the long lines and other issues at the agency.
Promoting TSA Pre✓™ in their marketing materials, including measures by some airlines allowing frequent fliers to use miles to pay for enrollment.
It wasn’t just the terminals, but the parking lots were also filled.
The moves came after scenes of chaos, including interminable lines and angry passengers, had been making waves all week leading up to Memorial Day Weekend, which is about the 30th busiest travel occasion in the U.S.
John Rafferty of North Dallas, Texas, said a big problem is that “more passengers are carrying luggage or bags onto airplanes instead of checking them”. Last week, A4A projected that 231 million passengers are expected to fly in scheduled service on US airlines from June 1 – August 31, an all-time high. But they can at least look forward to the lower gas prices – averaging about $2.29 a gallon for regular unleaded, 40 cents lower than past year, according to AAA.
While 70,000 may not sound like a large number when considering the 63 million passengers who have taken flights on American Airlines this year, Reuters notes that this figure doesn’t even include passengers on other airlines who likely suffered the same missed flight fate as a result of TSA delays.
“There will be 58 new (TSA) officers there by the end of this week”, said Neffenger, adding that wait times have been brought down to 15 minutes at O’Hare. Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer vacations for many and a busy travel period, serves as a crucial test for the TSA.
What makes it even more outrageous and unacceptable is that everybody who should have seen this coming – Congress, TSA and the airlines – not only ignored or couldn’t grasp the impending catastrophe, they made it worse. More than 23,000 people have used the site since it went live on May 5.
It was an experience shared with Kristan and Tim Witham.
Addressing concerns raised by small airports, the Homeland Security Committee introduced a bill on Thursday to let local TSAs make staffing decisions, rather than wait for higher-up approval before adding or rearranging lines.
Philipovitch also recommended that the TSA consider reinstating risk-based screening programs.
“So if someone resigns for any reason, I can immediately get someone in to backfill them”, said Kevin Frederick of the TSA.
Prepare for the line: All passengers should allow for extra time at TSA checkpoints.
Roger Dow, president of the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group for the nation’s travel industry, is one of the loudest critics of the program, saying he worries that the long lines will discourage travelers from flying this summer.
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Much of the infuriating waiting game has been blamed upon the brutal combination of staff shortages and traveler increases.
