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

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.

Comments

T.his S.ucks A.lot

[turkeydance]

..."there is no easy solution to the problem"... oh yes, there is.

Re:T.his S.ucks A.lot

[glitch!]

I know the answer is obvious, but since you did not actually say it... Disband the TSA. Fire their sorry and stupid asses so they can contribute to the economy in some other way. Go back to metal detectors and a simple xray as in the 1990's. Let passengers put their keys, coins, small knives, and Leatherman tools in the plastic basket going around the metal detector. Okay, have a vapor detector for common explosives and do a polite check when it gives a (false, of course) positive. Otherwise, non-metalics go through.

When I flew for business, my boss often gave me his tickets, and I just had to remember to respond when his name was called. The airlines hated this and they were a major force for the stupid regulations for checking ID. They were really pissed that senior citizens that bought cheap tickets way in advance could sell their tickets to business people who wanted close dates.

As far as I can remember, there are only a couple cases of actual airline "terrorist" actions in the last few decades that were not state sponsored. I think the Lockerbie bomb is one example. Most every other is a product of the CIA, Mossad, or one of their operatives. TSA can't do a thing about a privileged agent walking the "underwear bomber" or his equivalent around security.

Re: T.his S.ucks A.lot

[TheReaperD]

I think 90% is giving them too much credit. So far the only policy I have read that has likely had a positive change for security is putting security doors for the pilots and requiring them to be locked. But, that doesn't cost billions of dollars annually so it is not considered "sufficient."

America is the Worst

[SumDog]

Airport security does suck everywhere. Australia's is pretty bad. Germany's is pretty terrible too, but the worst, by far, out of any country I have every flow through, is Americas. I have never had more confrontations with security than in the US. Most other countries don't require ID for flying domestically (and fun fact: America doesn't either. Next time, refuse. It takes a little longer, but it's worth it. The US government has no right to restrict transit if you don't have papers. In most EU countries you are required to have ID on you at all time. Not in the US).

Airport security is a joke. It's not security, it's security theatre. They've never stopped a single damn person intending harm ever in the history of their existence. Fuck them, fuck airports and fuck the TSA.

Not to mention, the TSA searches are totally and completely illegal and unconstitutional. Back when airport security was private, it was the airlines getting together to set the standards and searches were part of their terms of service. When the federal government starts doing it, it now becomes a 4th amendment violation. Texas tried to return airports to private security and was bullied by the federal government and gave up the fight. The new mm-wave body scanners have a massive false positive rate and are effectively useless.

Misleading

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a misleading report. Attributing long lines to TSA pre-check is false; attributing long lines to mismanagement would be more accurate. Problem with TSA precheck enrollment? Drop the price. Recently; in 75% of the airports I've traveled - the TSA Precheck line was closed. This article is completely bogus; and everyone should do their own due diligence than blindly believing these reports and redistributing these articles. Please - due your own diligence; mainstream media has a long track record of misleading people.

It's the body scanners

[Bamfarooni]

I fly a lot, and routinely notice that the body scanners take about 5x as long as the metal detectors (and probably cause cancer). I regularly watch the TSA agents clear their backed-up lines by opening the metal detector for 30 seconds, sending 10 people through, and then closing it again (making the value of the scanner clearly questionable).

Re:Numbers

[Time_Ngler]

They've dissuaded *countless* terrorists. Countless, as in, we can't count them because we made them up and you have no proof they don't exist

for $85 you can be treated like a pre 9-11 citizen

[liquid_schwartz]

Although I travel often I am against the pre-check because it seems like a scam to have to pay $85 to be treated like a citizen again.

The head of the TSA are *ALL* former military

[elcor]

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.