TSA Neglects to Screen Nearly a Dozen Passengers at JFK
Jeff Edwards February 21, 2017
The TSA reportedly opened a PreCheck lane without proper staffing, allowing nearly a dozen passengers to slip through without being screened prior to boarding flights.
Law enforcement officials say that the TSA compounded an early morning security lapse at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) by waiting nearly two hours to admit that a mistake occurred. Nearly a dozen passengers reportedly passed through metal detectors unchecked after a security line at the airport was opened without being fully staffed.
According to NBC News, the eleven passengers placed their bags on the conveyor belt at the PreCheck lane (which had just opened), but were not screened or properly monitored as they passed through metal detectors. Officials say that the passenger’s carry-on bags were screened correctly, but that a handful of flyers managed to pick up their personal items and board their flights without being screened. In some cases, passengers set off alarms on the metal detector without ever being stopped.
Port Authority Police told reporters that because the TSA waited two hours to inform the proper authorities, the passengers involved were already in the air and headed to their destinations by the time they learned that there had been a security lapse at JFK. Police did manage to identify three passengers who had boarded a flight which had already departed for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Those passengers were screened when the flight landed in California.
“Despite belated notification by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Port Authority Police attempted at approximately 8 a.m. today to locate 11 individuals who went through an unattended TSA PreCheck checkpoint at approximately 6 a.m. at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 5,” The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey which operates JFK said in a statement. “Those terminal searches, initiated when a TSA supervisor discovered and alerted Port Authority Police to the lapse, were unsuccessful and it is believed the travelers in question boarded various flights.”
Meanwhile, the TSA told NBC News that because the passengers’ bags were x-rayed and passed by K9 units, the agency was “confident” that the security breach “presents minimal risk to the aviation transportation system.”
[Photo: Shutterstock]
@RJBurns: It worked well actually. They pulled the thief from the line immediately while I was there. I'm not sure what happened to the thieving employee, but I've never seen her at the checkpoint since the incident.
How did that complaint form work for you? TSA at T5 is probably the worst in the USA - rude agents, supervisors who get off on giving their customers a hard time, a ridiculous rule about "no trays" in the PreCheck lanes, etc, etc. Not surprised this happened at T5.
How is this "screening" any different than the job TSA normally performs? It didn't inconvenience passengers enough? Their T5 thieves, er, agents didn't steal enough from pax carry-ons? I'm sure it was just as effective, but don't take my word for it -- TSA admits they fail >90% of the time. The only place I've had TSA try to pilfer from my carry-ons was in T5 @ JFK. Fortunately, there was an honest TSA gentleman who witnessed it, called my attention to it, and immediately grabbed a supervisor and complaint form.
And if they were found to be carrying anything dangerous, the TSA would have sent hem back to JFK to be properly screened, no doubt.
The 3 PAX were probably connecting in LAX so yea they should be screened