FlyerTalk Forums - Some LAX airlines will provide employees to help out the TSA over the Holidays

Having been saddled by Congress with the Herculean task of screening about one billion checked bags for explosives (and all sorts of other prohibited items) but not having been given a large enough army of strong backs, it was reported today that some of the LAX airlines have agreed to provide baggage handlers to help load the checked baggage screening machines to keep the system from just plain breaking down.

Three years I posted extensively on FlyerTalk about the absolute lunacy of searching a billion bags a year; now, almost two years after the TSA's deadlne to begin screening all bags, it turns out it just isn't up to the task during the peak travel periods.

Quote:

To help during the holiday crush, some airlines have agreed to provide baggage handlers to load explosives-detection machines, freeing screeners to work the airport's 60 security checkpoints, said Larry Fetters, the federal agency's security director at LAX.

"In all the extensive wait times we had over the summer, not once was it because we weren't staffing our positions," Fetters said. "We have incredible numbers of people at the airport, and we're processing them as fast as we can."

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...,6117021.story

Uh huh. And when I routinely stand in line at the post office or the DMV, it's not because many of the windows are unstaffed, it's just because of incredible numbers of customers, and they are processing them as fast as they can. Uh huh.

Any real bombs found in checked luggage? Roughly two billion checked bags later? Or just various hazmat items that, while admitedly dangerous, have probably always traveled in checked bags (without incident) despite admonitions to leave them home?