Franken, Klobuchar Call For More TSA Screeners To End MSP Delays
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Outrage over security lines at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is building.
Sen. Al Franken said Thursday he has asked the TSA for more screeners.
And Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced Wednesday she will bring the head of the TSA to the airport to see for himself how reconfigured checkpoints in Terminal 1 have made security lines dramatically longer.
TSA offered sunny projections six weeks ago of what would happen with the transition from five smaller security checkpoints to two larger ones.
Related: Franken Fights For More TSA Agents At MSP Security Checkpoints
WCCO asked TSA's Cliff Van Leuven in January if the new checkpoint configuration would make security check a smoother and faster process for passengers.
"That's exactly what we expect," Van Leuven said. "The timing couldn't be better."
In fact, the timing could not have been worse. Traffic at MSP can be up to 50-percent higher than on an average day during the spring break season of March and April.
On top of that, overall airport traffic is up 6 percent in recent years, and the number of TSA screeners is down more than 8 percent -- and that is a recipe for security bottlenecks.
"No one should be waiting in line for 60 minutes, no one should miss a flight because of that," Sen. Al Franken said.
He is asking the TSA for more screeners and authorization for overtime for existing screeners. The TSA has recommended passengers apply for TSA expedited check in -- but that costs $85 and requires making an appointment for an in-person interview.
WCCO asked passenger Mark Hollander of Des Moines if that was realistic for his family.
"Not for a family of four," Hollander said. "An extra $85 a person is way too much for that."
Related: Dayton: TSA 'Ruined' MSP Airport Checkpoint Efficiency
Nate Garvis, a Minneapolis businessman and frequent traveler, says he had to wait a month for his interview.
"You have to find the time," Garvis said. "It's inconvenient. For anyone who's about to go on spring break it's going to be really frustrating, so not only a bad design, [it's a] bad time for the bad design."
The new checkpoints cost $17 million, and that money comes from airport user fees, such as parking.
The TSA and the Metropolitan Airport Commission decided to reconfigure the check points after another spring break crisis in 2014. That is when TSA cuts also made for very long lines.
MSP official are recommending that passengers get to the airport two-and-a-half-hours early.