Traveler's Edition
After complaints this spring from passengers who found lengthy TSA lines were all too common – some even missing their flights as a result – it looks like the situation is improving.
Peter Neffenger , head of the Transportation Security Administration, said on Tuesday that screening lines were getting shorter – just in time for the busy summer period. Speaking at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Neffenger cited figures from the Memorial Day weekend:
- In regular security lines, 99% of passengers at U.S. airports waited less than 30 minutes – for 93% the wait was less than 15 minutes.
- 93% of passengers in TSA Precheck lines waited less than 5 minutes.
Focusing its attention on busy airports such as John F. Kennedy in New York, Newark in New Jersey, O’Hare in Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles, the agency has managed to reduce wait times thanks to new measures such as the addition of more lanes as well as increased staffing at peak periods. TSA is also looking into installing automated screening technology at over a dozen airports to speed up screening times even more. It’s safe to say that none of us want to spend hours waiting to get through security and while there are ways to avoid long TSA lines, with summer just around the corner the news couldn’t have come at a better time!
Have you been caught in a long screening line recently? What do you think about the recent improvements?
