TWA884

Reuters:

Boggie Dog

TSA's problem isn't that TSA doesn't have enough screeners. The problem circles around how and what is being screened and the number of non-productive TSA employees one sees at TSA checkpoints.

I would call for requiring senior TSA management staff (FSD/AFSD/TSM) being required to be at checkpoints for 4 hours of every workday. They would need to be visible to passengers and let them explain why their employees are so ineffective.

Boggie Dog

Here's another take on the cause of long lines at TSA Security Checkpoints and it doesn't paint a very pretty picture of TSA.

I think the article is dead on by pointing the finger at TSA as the point of failure.

No, Budget Cuts Aren’t Why You’re Waiting Hours To Get Through Airport Security

http://www.investors.com/politics/ed...port-security/

BSBD

I've been noticing that while x-Ray screening and bag checks have become much more draconian (although they continue to miss the "prohibited items" that I carry every week through the checkpoints), document checks have become perfunctory.

The TDC still scans my boarding pass, but now they just pretend to look at my ID, and don't bother with pretending to see if the photo matches my face.

Seems to me that if the perfunctory checks are here to stay, the boarding pass check could changed further to be 100% automated. That would free up multiple TSA clerks to do other, more useful (yeah, I know ) things.

chollie

TSA never should have been worrying about IDs in the first place. If the airlines want revenue protection, they could handle it the same way as international flights. You get your docs checked and cleared at checkin, the lounge, or at the gate before boarding. Domestic ID checks could be handled the same way.

Unfortunately, the way they've set Pre up, you'd still need a check of some sort.

Xyzzy

Why nt just eliminate them (except perhaps for Pre lanes)? They serve little useful purpose.

BSBD

Why not? If you read any of the comments posted on articles about TSA, you'll find that most people think that the more theatrics there are, the "safer" we can all feel.

I made the mistake of reading the comments posted in response to an article on abcnews.com about the latest TSA PR debacle, and most of the commenters apparently think that TSA doesn't go far enough in inconveniencing/harassing/harming air travelers.

Boggie Dog

Eliminating TSA ID checks would make perfect sense and that is why TSA will not eliminate ID checks.

Xyzzy

Yea - I knw ... wishful thinking.

petaluma1

Sounds as if Johnson might have over-ruled Neffenger and told him to get this problem solved.

Long lines

Boggie Dog

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...f12_story.html

How about the attrition rate at TSA Neffenger?

Announcements at USAJOBS.GOV does not support the claimed 200 new hires per week.

Someone isn't telling the truth.

chollie

Is the TSO in the photo accompanying the WaPo article just standing around or is he a BDO?

How can you tell?

WillCAD

They serve one moderately useful purpose, though it's not a security measure per se - they are meant to limit admittance to the sterile area to ticketed passengers only, which reduces the number of people screened, which shortens lines.

Even with pre-9/11 screening, limiting sterile area access to ticketed pax only significantly reduces the number of people clogging up the screening checkpoints. In the old days, it was common to see whole families seeing off grandma and grandpa on their trips to Boca, or Junior on his way to college. Now, only the travelers themselves (with a few limited exceptions) pass through the c/p, and the lines are still unwieldy - imagine if the BP check was eliminated and travelers could bring their entire entourages with them.

So although I know that the ID check does nothing for security, it does prevent people from printing a dozen BPs on their home printers and bringing the whole clan to the gate to see them off.

Xyzzy

Anyone wishing to do that today has to simply purchase a refundable ticket to get airside and then cancel that ticket without flying. It happens every day -- though I agree that mst people would never think of doing so.

WillCAD

Sure, the ID check isn't foolproof - which is why it's utterly useless as a security measure - but it's more than good enough to stop the average person from bringing the entire clan to see the Grans off to Boca or to visit Uncle Fred in Cheyenne. Most people won't buy a refundable ticket and then cancel, especially not for a whole family; the funds involved are prohibitive.