TSA Head Visits MSP To Address Security Delays
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Passengers have been running out of patience ever since the TSA consolidated security checkpoints at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Pam Rozendaal arrived plenty early Friday to make sure her son catches his flight.
"Really concerned because we've heard that it's taken up to two, two-and-a-half hours, so he's here three hours before his flight," Rozendaal said.
Those lines were not nearly as bad Friday, when TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger stopped in to see for himself.
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"I'll tell you, I don't like waiting in long lines either, and I know you don't," Neffenger said.
He is being pressed by political leaders and airport staff to make it better.
That begins with adding two more canine teams for pre-screening; more TSA staffing at the checkpoints; and use of overtime in the busier periods.
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"I'm convinced that we can improve the process, we can improve efficiency, we can still meet our effectiveness targets and we can improve the passenger experience," Neffenger said.
Six days after Sen. Amy Klobuchar criticized the agency for not doing enough, she sounded optimistic Friday those efficiencies will not sacrifice passenger safety.
"We know we're going to have bad days and good days, but compared to what we were dealing with about two weeks ago when we were getting calls, I was seeing it myself, with lines crossing over," Klobuchar said.
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Neffenger has now witnessed the complaints, and is promising to keep the lines moving.
"If I'm in a line, I'm comfortable as long as it's moving, and I feel that the people are doing the best job that they can," he said.
Average daily traffic is up some 40 percent, which is compounding the problem.
WCCO also got wait-time figures, showing improvement from the 70 minutes when this change was made Feb. 19, to Friday – when the longest wait to go through the line was down to 28 minutes.