"Longer airport lines likely this summer"

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Longer airport lines likely this summer
By Alan Levin
USA TODAY


WASHINGTON - Airports already dealing with long lines of passengers at
security checkpoints could see the problem get worse this summer as air
travelers take to the skies in potentially record numbers.

Air travel is growing sharply at the same time that Congress has reduced the
number of airport security screeners from a peak of 55,000 to a maximum of
45,000. Politicians, airport managers and others said Tuesday that steps
need to be taken to prevent lines at checkpoints from getting out of hand.

Transportation Department Inspector General Kenneth Mead told a Senate
committee that security officials should keep better track of how long
passengers must wait at checkpoints. Delays of an hour or more have been
reported at some airports.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who chairs the House aviation subcommittee, called
the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) "a federal bureaucracy with
Soviet-style central command and control" that cannot keep up with demands.
The agency has not been able to hire new screeners fast enough to keep up
with turnover, Mica said.

That has contributed to memorable delays. On May 10, for instance, the
security line at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport snaked a
half-mile, and 400 people missed flights because the federally supervised
screeners could not keep up.

Airport General Manager Ben DeCosta, who has been demanding more screeners,
said wait times were shorter Monday. "Still, the lines were 40 minutes long.
That is not an acceptable level of service," DeCosta said.

The Air Transport Association, the trade group representing large airlines,
predicts the number of people flying this summer will climb 12% from last
year. About 65 million people a month will take flights this summer, the
group estimates. Those numbers are about the same as or slightly higher than
figures from summer 2000, which saw record levels of flights and passengers.

The TSA plans to hire more screeners at several airports. It will cut back
the number of screeners at airports where staffing is too high. The agency
is also seeking ways to streamline operations and next week will launch a
public-education campaign to help travelers negotiate screening checkpoints.


DeCosta and others said TSA officials promised to add 59 screeners in
Atlanta, but DeCosta is concerned that won't be enough: "It's time for the
TSA to make clear to Congress what they need to get the job done." 

USA TODAY interviewed more than two dozen travelers and airport managers
Tuesday. Fliers mostly praised the screening, but many reported longer lines
in recent months. 

Jan Cooper, a consultant with the Federal Aviation Administration, said she
waited 40 minutes at Dulles International Airport near Washington recently.
"There must've been 500 people in that line," Cooper said. 

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport spokesman Ken Capps said waiting
times had surged to as long as 30 minutes in recent months. Added screeners
are coming just in time. "We were fixing to have a problem" if additional
help wasn't brought in, he said.


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