TSA Demonstrates How Carrying Prohibited Items Slow Security Lines
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Transportation Security Administration officials promised THursday they are working to cut down on wait times at airport security checkpoints, and said passengers can help lines move faster.
To drive home their point, the TSA set up two different security lines for a demonstration at Midway International Airport.
In one line, mock travelers showed up with prohibited items such as guns, knives, and large water bottles. Others in the line had laptops that were not out and ready for screeners to inspect, or at least stowed in a checkpoint friendly travel bag. In the other line, the mock travelers had no restricted items, and had their laptops properly stored or ready to be checked.
The difference in wait times was drastic. The ten people who were not carrying any prohibited items got through security in less than two minutes. It took the other group took more than six minutes to get screened.
"In terms of a dangerous item, like a firearm, we're going to have to hold it; and that really, basically, makes one lane ineffective until the firearm is cleared," said TSA regional spokesman Mark Howell.
RELATED: TSA Prohibited Items List
Although the demonstration came just days after hundreds of passengers missed flights at O'Hare due to extremely long wait times for security, Howell said the event had been planned long beforehand.
"We are not using this event to blame it on passengers," he said. "There's many things on top of prohibited items. There's staffing. I'm not going to say that we don't need to fix our staffing. It's a lot of pieces to the puzzle when you're talking about the overall growth in wait times, and we're working with our partners at the airlines and the airports to really get in front of that, and we're doing a lot of things like increasing staffing and canines as well."
The TSA has significantly reduced staff over the past three years, anticipating high demand for its PreCheck program, which allows for expedited screening, but far fewer people have enrolled in the $85-$100 program than anticipated.
Howell said the number of travelers at airports also is going up, due to lower fares offered by the airlines. Some larger airports have seen a 15 percent increase in traveler volume since last year.
Another factor in the long lines, officials have said, is many passengers bringing more luggage through security to avoid checked baggage fees.
All those factors have led to security lines that have been up to three hours long in some cases in recent days.
The TSA already has pledged to increase staffing in Chicago to relieve wait times at security checkpoints. The agency will send 58 new security officers and four extra bomb-sniffing canine teams to O'Hare in the next couple weeks. In addition, 100 current part-time TSA officers at O'Hare and Midway Airport will be moved to full-time duty within days to help during peak travel hours, and 250 more officers will be added to the airports by August. Authorized overtime will be tripled.
The union representing TSA screeners have said 6,000 more screeners need to be hired nationwide to have checkpoints fully staffed.
On Friday, the head of TSA will be in Chicago to meet to meet with his team here, and get an up-close look at operations at the city's airports. He'll also meet with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin to discuss the situation.