Jeh Johnson, secretary of Homeland Security, said on Friday that Transportation Security Administration and his agency are working on a plan to reduce wait time of airport travelers in American airports.
He announces steps the TSA has done, including more screeners' overtime, faster crew hiring and increase on the utilization of bomb-sniffing canines.
However, the steps would not eliminate waiting time in airports but just merely reduce them, Johnson said together with Peter Neffenger, Transportation Security Administration head. As much as both agencies want to keep the passengers moving, he pointed out that the important task is to keep all travelers safe.
TSA has pinpointed tightened security steps and lower budget allocation as reasons for the long lines. There is a shortage of screeners, TSA admits.
Some Congress members are not impressed. They have attributed lack of screeners to the agency's management problems
It is remembered that from March to April, passengers were complaining about the long lines of security checkups in airports. Airports and airlines fear travel gridlock especially during travel season. The security checkups would take 20 minutes to an hour. The long lines result to flight misses and other complications.
Airport managements have long since thought of ways to ease the whole process. One way was rerouting of the baggage. Three major airports in New York were thinking of firing the TSA and hiring private security screeners if the problem is not solved as soon as possible.
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward J. Markey however, asked the airlines to waive fees for checked-in baggage. Without charges, they suggested, passenger would most likely not hand carry their bags.
To avoid flight delays and misses, passengers can only do prevention causes: they have to be at the airport hours before their flight. While the TSA and HS are working on hastening the security process, being early for the flight is the best prevention measure for passengers as of the moment.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
