Airlines blame lawmakers as lines grow
DALLAS — As airport security lines get longer, the finger-pointing over blame is growing too.
The nation’s leading airlines, already feuding with the Transportation Security Administration, are now taking on Congress.
The trade group Airlines for America on Thursday said Congress should reverse a 2013 decision that diverted $12.6 billion in passenger-security fees to reducing the federal budget deficit. The airlines want that money to pay for airport security screening.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has joined a handful of senators in asking airlines to waive fees on checked bags. They say that would lead to fewer carryon bags for TSA to screen.
Neither side is giving ground, and passengers are stuck in the middle.
Airlines say lines are long because the TSA is understaffed while travel is expected to hit a record high this summer. Congress has advanced TSA money to hire 768 more screeners and pay overtime this summer, but airlines say that won’t be good enough.
They have zeroed in on a 2013 budget bill in which Congress raised security fees on airline tickets and ordered the Homeland Security Department to set aside $12.6 billion over 10 years to reduce the deficit, including $1.25 billion this year.
“That decision has come home to roost,” said Nick Calio, president of the airline trade group. He said in a letter to senators that Congress should immediately put that money into screening passengers, “where it belongs.”
Airlines are resisting the call to suspend fees on checked bags. They say that bag fees have been common since 2008 and that long lines were not a big problem until this year. They also note that some of the longest lines have been at Chicago’s Midway Airport, where the dominant carrier, Southwest Airlines, charges only for three or more bags.
U.S. airlines raised $3.8 billion from bag fees last year, according to the government.
Airlines and TSA agree that lines would be shorter if more passengers paid for expedited screening. The airline trade group says the TSA should make that happen by waiving the $85 fee for PreCheck, which speeds things up because passengers don’t have to remove shoes, belts and light jackets and can leave laptops in their bags.