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TSA's Precheck Registration Program Causing Longer Security Lines (usatoday.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the so-much-for-that-idea dept.

McGruber writes: The Associated Press is reporting that TSA's PreCheck program is causing maddening long security lines at U.S. airports. TSA's PreCheck security lanes can screen 300 passengers an hour, twice that of its standard security lanes. Based on that and other increased efficiencies, the TSA's front-line screeners were cut from 47,147 three years ago to 42,525 currently. At the same time, the number of annual fliers passing through checkpoints has grown from 643 million to more than 700 million. The TSA told Congress its goal was to have 25 million fliers enrolled in the PreCheck registration program, but as of March 1, only 9.3 million people had registered for PreCheck. TSA first tried to make up for that shortfall by randomly placing passengers into the express Precheck lanes, but scaled back that effort for fear dangerous passengers were being let through. That's when the regular security lines started growing -- up to 90 minutes in some cases. The TSA is now shifting some resources to tackle lines at the nation's biggest airports, but it claims there is no easy solution to the problem with a record number of fliers expected this summer. To enroll in TSA's Precheck registration program, travelers must pay $85 to $100 every five years, then submit to a background check, in-person interview at an airport, and to being fingerprinted. Unsurprisingly, getting once-a-year fliers to spend the time or the money to register has been a challenge. While 250,000 to 300,000 people are registering for Precheck every month, it will take more than four years at that pace to reach the TSA's target enrollment.

1 of 382 comments (clear)

  1. The head of the TSA are *ALL* former military by elcor · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is very wrong on so many levels. I met a former TSA and she explained how working there is hell made by those at the helm. They are all former Military with military training and mentality, enforcing military discipline onto the TSA workers and onto us, the citizen. She also mentioned that TSA workers send a lot of feedback to their superior but are met with either disciplinary measure or contempt.