Oakland TSA Agent: “Things Aren’t Being Checked”
Jennifer Billock January 17, 2019
MIAMI, FL - JUNE 02: Travelers go through the TSA PreCheck security point at Miami International Airport on June 2, 2016 in Miami, Florida. As the busy summer travel season heats up the Transportation Security Administration is encouraging people to sign up for the TSA PreCheck program to save time going through the airports security lines. Those enrolled in the program can leave their shoes, light outerwear and belt on during the terminal screening process as well as keeping their laptop in the carry-on suitcase without having to remove them at the checkpoint. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Thanks to the government shutdown, the Transportation Security Administration is not functioning like the well-oiled machine it’s supposed to be; some employees are calling in sick and others are reporting that things just aren’t being checked as well as they could be – and no one is making any money.
Earlier this week, one of the pitfalls of the government shutdown became clear: a passenger on a flight from Atlanta to Tokyo was able to slip a gun through security. With many Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees working without pay, things are beginning to slip through the cracks at airports.
“Everything is slowing down a little bit,” San Francisco TSA employee Luster Harris told KPIX5. “Yes, we need border security, but you’re missing out on the security of other things. All our services are not running so some things are not being checked like they should be.”
Harris says that a number of TSA employees have been calling in sick during the furlough they’re mandated to work through, but mainly because they can’t afford the commute or childcare if they aren’t getting paid. And Harris himself won’t have the funds to pay his own bills in February. He’s also completely unsurprised about the gun incident.
“So far, God bless, nothing has happened [at Oakland airport, where I work],” Harris told KPIX5. “But there’s no telling when somebody with ill intentions may try something or sneak something on board and we don’t have the personnel to catch it. At least, not right now.”
As for now, Harris is starting to look for other work during the shutdown so he can make ends meet.
[Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
I posted this on the similar Etihad incident back in November, but it bears repeating: “The airlines’ handling of these so-called ‘mistake fares’ is absolutely insane. They can basically unilaterally get out of the contract with no penalty – there’s no burden of proof they have to meet to have a fare declared a mistake...” I’ll add that every incident seems to get worse. Etihad advertised a first class fare but then downgraded it to business class after it was paid for. In this case, the airline is refusing to either honor the ticket or refund it? Basically take the money and run? Insanity. It’s time for a court to weigh in on this nonsense.