I don't recall the airport, but recently someone posted a photo at AskTSA. One jammed line and four more closed, empty lanes, each leading to a podium with a TSA standing there doing nothing.
IIRC, the tweeter may even have referenced TSA's latest bit of ridiculous word-smithing: they're training ("How to Stand Around, 101"), or playing 'secret service mission' - or spending their break pretending to be a TDC.
OP, I think we need a more practical approach to security. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the rest of the world seems to do airport security without it turning into the national embarrassment it is in the US. They do it with half or less of the staff the US uses, a tiny fraction of the expensive (and often incorrect) signage, endlessly blaring recorded loops and big screens that the US wastes money on.
The rest of the world even manages to handle airport security effectively without blogs or twitter accounts dispensing misinformation and insults.
Best of all, in the rest of the world, agents are trained* to behave normally and use their 'indoor voices' instead of barking loudly.
* Either the rest of the world trains their agents to speak in a normal speaking voice inside, or they're smart enough to figure out there's no positive reason to stand around bellowing all day. People ignore barking; they pay attention to eye contact and quiet voices.
OP, your carefully thought out plan would succeed in enriching many corrupt government officials, contractors and politicians. I'm a taxpayer, and that money would come out of my pocket. I see nothing in your plan that would expedite my experience, reduce the likelihood of hands between my legs and in my clothing every time I fly, or that would reduce the noise pollution of barking TSOs and overly-loud taped loops. It would add an extra burden in the form of buses/trams/trains and a broken up journey. That's nothing to young, able-bodied travelers with minimal luggage; it's a real headache for families, less-than-able-bodied people, folks in wheelchairs/crutches, pax with lots of luggage, etc.
Last edited by chollie; Jun 20, 2016 at 9:08 am