A4A Implores TSA to Release Wait Time Data
Jackie Reddy May 19, 2016
FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2011, file photo, airline passengers retrieve their scanned belongings while going through the Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta. Airline executives said Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, at a global aviation conference that Airport security needs to undergo a radical overhaul or else passengers will become further disgruntled, lines will grow and terminals will be overwhelmed. "We simply can't cope with the expected volume of passengers with the way things are today," said Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association, the airlines' trade group. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser, File)
In an effort to help passenger planning during a record-breaking travel season, A4A has called on the TSA to be open and honest about wait times at security checkpoints.
As tension over long lines at security checkpoints continues to mount, industry trade body Airlines for America (A4A) has implored the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to release wait time data. It also dismissed the idea that the current situation is down to checked luggage fees.
In addition to increasing the number of travelers enrolled in its expedited Pre-Check program, Sharon Pinkerton, A4A Senior Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, believes that the TSA can remedy this situation by simply releasing wait time data.
In a conference call, she told ATWOnline that, “It would be helpful if TSA would release the actual real wait times at each airport.”
Pinkerton was also adamant that baggage fees were not the cause of the current situation, using recent figures from Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW) to illustrate her point. Ninety percent of flights out of MDW, she noted, are operated by Southwest Airlines, which doesn’t charge any baggage fees. This airport, Pinkerton said, still had wait times in excess of 90 minutes.
“So clearly there is no relation between bag fees and wait times,” she said.
Along with MDW, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) has also been troubled by long wait times. ATWOnline reported that on May 15, 450 passengers here missed flights because of increased processing times. With holiday travel on the horizon, on Tuesday, Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), issued a statement, calling on TSA head Peter Neffenger to improve times or relinquish his role as the body’s administrator. “TSA Administrator Neffenger must resign and be replaced with a leader who can provide fast and secure screening,” he said.
Senator Kirk’s views are timely; yesterday, A4A released its summer travel forecast. It has predicted that America’s airports will see approximately 231 million travelers in the period from Memorial Day to September, a four percent increase on last year’s numbers.
While the TSA declined to comment, Pinkerton said, “It has been a challenging spring … We encourage TSA to … train new staff to help alleviate this problem, and we also encourage more travelers to enroll in TSA Pre-Check as we move into another record-setting travel season.”
[Photo: AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser]
The TSA is killing more people than it's saving. With every worsening of their performance, people will decide to take to highways instead of flying. Statistically that is known to create deaths. There is no reason, no excuse for why lines should be several times longer than they used to be.
But at the least pax could better estimate how early they need to get to the security line. Occasional fliers can be totally unrealistic about the actual time it takes to get to the gate. Less rush, less stress. Less stress, less acting out. Seems like a worthwhile trade-off. A little more information, a little less mania.
Let's say the TSA does get more "honest" and decides to release the information So what? If they don't add staff or do anything different, wait times will not change.