NY’s horrible air lines
PA hammers TSA on agonizing waits
Passengers are so fed up with “abysmal” security wait times at New York area airports that the situation is about to boil over and affect the local economy, the Port Authority warned in a scathing letter to the TSA.
“The patience of the flying public has reached a breaking point,” reads the dire missive, which PA Chief Security Officer Thomas Belfiore sent last week to Transportation Security Administration boss Peter Neffenger.
“Given the adverse customerservice and economic impacts, we can no longer tolerate the continuing inadequacy of TSA passenger screening services,” the letter adds.
Security-checkpoint wait times at JFK, La Guardia and Newark airports have skyrocketed from last year, the letter states.
Between March 15 and April 15 this year, fliers were forced to endure wait times longer than 20 minutes 253 times. In the same period last year, passengers had to wait longer than 20 minutes a mere 10 times.
In the same March 15-April 15 period, the average wait time this year shot up 82 percent to 20.9 minutes, from 11. 5 minutes in 2015. The longest wait times in the same period this year hit 55 minutes, up from 30 last year.
The PA demanded that the TSA add more staff to handle the growing security lines, the letter said.
“We urge the agency to take all appropriate measures to devote more of its existing resources to core passenger-screening functions,” the letter read, adding that the PA would even consider hiring private screeners in a bid to shorten wait times.
The letter also urged the TSA to give local supervisors the power to make their own staffing decisions, without having to check with TSA headquarters in Washington.
“Please keep in mind that flight activity at [NYC-area] airports is extremely important to the regional economy,” the letter said.
“We are concerned that further increases in screen-point wait times will only exacerbate customer dissatisfaction, pushing passengers to opt for alternate modes of transport or simply cancel their travel plans outright.”
The TSA said its top priority is security, passenger anger be damned.
“As for wait times, I can tell you that TSA’s primary focus is the current threat environment, as the American transportation system remains a high-value target for terrorists,” said TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy.
New York City-area airports are regularly noted as at or near the bottom in terms of delays, security lines and Customs wait times.