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The TSA Is Crushing It!
All those naysayers that dismissed the idea that a government run, fully-unionized workforce couldn’t make travel safe yet efficient were clearly wrong. From the New York Times:
Security lines at airports are getting longer — much longer — and wait times could reach epidemic levels when air travel peaks this summer, according to airlines, airports and federal officials
No worries though, therapy to the rescue:
Airport workers walked up and down the line with therapy dogs and handed out bottled water and candy to travelers
Nothing calms me after missing a flight like a little canine therapy and aqua fria.
Why the troubles? Turns out the economy is to blame:
“Where it starts is actually a volume issue,” said Mr. Rasicot, who was previously a senior official with the United States Coast Guard, as was the TSA’s administrator, Peter V. Neffenger. “It’s really a good-news story. The economy is doing well, Americans are traveling more, and this equates with record numbers at our checkpoints.”
But at least they are proficient:
There are other factors at play as well. Last year, the agency vowed to make changes to security and screening procedures to address widespread safety lapses that had been uncovered by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
The audit found that agents had failed to spot weapons and explosives in 95 percent of the undercover tests. The findings prompted criticism by some former and current TSA employees, who claimed that the agency was keen to keep passengers moving quickly through the lines.
I played football at a small high school and we routinely got our butts kicked…..my buddy would say “We were small, but we were slow.”
Sounds about right.
Published in Domestic Policy
It’s clearly a work action to extort a higher budget.
My first thought after the Belgium bombings was that the terrorists would have gotten a lot more casualties if they did it in the lines for the TSA body checks. Almost certainly this is the greatest concentration of people at any airport.
Hmm, so the government backs Saudi Arabia even though it’s going out of its way to be our enemy. A bunch of Saudis then perpetrate the 9/11 attacks, requiring the government to attack Iraq and Afghanistan, create the TSA, and double down on its support for Saudi Arabia. And you have a problem with this?
Per Gadster, if you fly more than once or twice a year you need to get TSA Pre. Very simple process and it only costs $80 for 3 years. No unpacking your crap or taking your shoes off and the lines are usually much, much shorter.
TSA Pre works domestically, Global Entry works domestically and internationally(depending on the country). Best money you’ll ever spend, assuming you’re not a Texas hermit like Brent & AM
Think of it as falling down the stairs. Each temporary lapse in that fall is just another step on the way down.
I was signed up for Precheck when it was first announced, and it was wonderful. No line, no taking the shoes and belt off.
I don’t fly much anymore, and friends that do tell me the Precheck line is just as bad as the other line. Families with strollers go through, little kids, the lot.
In my airport, pre-check is often ignored or unstaffed. I don’t use it myself, since I do not wish to be fingerprinted.
I fly private, you don’t need to be “rich” A plane that flys @ ~180mph can be purchased for ~from 60K to 80K (you always get a few partners, to divide the costs) and operates @ ~$80/hour. There are some fixed costs to add in like tie downs,insurance, and annuals inspections. If you are really diligent you also maintain self imposed fee for major repairs.
My dispatch rate for VFR flights is ~75% with only a few hours time shift. IFR is closer to 90%. I find that for distance’s of 1000 miles I can beat the airlines since most of that type of flying involve their hubs, which adds 2 hours to the process.
The convenience of not having to go thru the pat down pervs is delicious. When I take folks with me they are typically enthralled at the scenery and advantages of DIY travel.
I’ve considered it, but I feel like I’d be selling myself out.
Then by all means, wait in the long lines with everyone else!
according to the Wall Street Journal a while back, Not enough people have signed up for Precheck, so when adjusting staffing/closing lines, the pre-check lines are the first to go.
Always open here in Minneapolis and most other airports I have been to.
In my previous position, I worked regularly with the FAA and TSA. I am curious why the FAA is against the current layout of MCI. Do you have a source for the quote?
(Unless you were conflating the FAA and TSA, which I get a lot during casual conversation about my job. In which case, I could care less about the quote because the TSA’s reason for complaining would be obvious.)
I often have to fly out of Dulles, where there are 10+ lines of equipment. At any given time, 2-4 are actually open, which means that the TSA runs the floor so as to ensure there is always a line.
TSA: Proudly wasting the time of America’s most productive citizens.
I may very well be wrong about the FAA being behind this. Here is another article about the airport. It appears there is a pause in the discussion. The airport committee is apparently a function of our local city council. Please excuse my egregious assumption and error.