Originally Posted by
FliesWay2Much
I think I know the answer already, but I'm hoping there are some airline industry "insiders" here on TS&S who can comment.
Neffy and his propaganda machine (PV and the Twitter sites) are blaming "increased passenger volume" for the long lines. Like many of you, I think this claim is complete BS, especially since I have never seen this assertion sourced.
All I know is that I'm flying in smaller aircraft with less choices to get from Point A to Point B. This isn't news. My observation is that downsizing happened after many people got fed up with the TSA and either stopped flying or flew considerably less. It got worse when the economy went in the tank in about 2008. I really can't believe that the amount of people entering a TSA checkpoint and getting on an airplane has increased at all. Fares don't appear to be going down, either.
Is there real data out there to support or refute the TSA's claim???
I can only speak for RDU/GSO, and we have not lost a significant amount of staffing (the normal attrition rate has been essentially static for a number of years), and our passenger flow has increased both at GSO and RDU. I do not have a specific percentage or hard count for you, but it has been busier this year than last, and spring break has been a pretty heavy increase this year. Apparently more kids/families are going places this year.