About 2.7 million airport passengers have signed up for TSA PreCheck for a promise of expedited screening line. It seems that the Transportation Security Administration is not delivering its promise.
PreCheck aims to enroll 25 million passengers to its program. Right now, it is 22 million short. Critics pointed out that if the program were successful, it would have approved the target numbers by now. Long lines are expected for the summer vacation season.
PreCheck requires enrollees to pass a background check. Low-risk passengers who pass the check would be able to join a shorter, faster airport security line. However, as House Homeland Security Committee said in a hearing on Wednesday, "The agency has struggled to keep up with the high demand and has been unable to put the right people at the right time."
Airports and airlines are trying to solve the situation on their own. Bay Area airports, for example, have hired their own workers to help with the shortage of TSA officers.
For its part, TSA came up with a ten-point plan to solve the problem: (1) increase overtime service of TSA officers, (2) speedy hiring of TSA officers, (3) deploying for canine team to screen more passengers, (4) letting Federal Security Directors use "flexibility" in delivering extra TSA officers, (5) coming up of plans to reduce wait times, (6) encouraging the passengers to reduce size and quantities of carry-on bags, (7) letting airlines help with non-security tasks, (8) intensifying of research and development in technology for usage in decongesting passenger flow, (9) encouraging more PreCheck enrollees, and (10) partnering with Congress to get more qualified resources for the TSA.
However as of now, the problem seems to be unsolvable. Not even PreCheck can solve it. Add to that, TSA just fired Office of Security Operations assistant administrator Kelly Hoggan over questionable bonuses.
Passengers now have no choice but come up with their own set of solutions for the incident.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
