Airport security lines have been unusually lengthy as of late, and the finger of blame has been pointed directly at the Transportation Security Administration (and for good reason.)
Fun fact: If you pack a gun, knife, explosive or any other restricted item in your carry-on bag and try to slip through security quickly, you will be stopped and you will hold up the line behind you. (So don’t.)
But TSA officials put on a demonstration at Midway on Thursday to show how forbidden items in carry-on luggage make the security line wait times worse. Which seems like the TSA is trying to blame PASSENGERS for the crazy long lines.
TSA regional spokesman Mark Howell rejected suggestions that the aim of the demonstration was to deflect criticism from the agency and toward passengers for not following security regulations. But that’s what it sounds like, so …
Howell said it’s a combination of factors, including an uptick in the number of people traveling, travelers’ behavior, understaffing and infrastructure problems in some airports, compounding the problems.
“There are so many intricacies as to why lines are long,” Howell told the Tribune. “We’re not blaming passengers, but we are asking you to please, five minutes before you go to the airport, go through your bags and make sure you don’t have bottles of water, or knives or a gun. That’s going to help. We’re not blaming, we’re asking for help.”
Suuuure. The TSA has been encouraging travelers to sign up for the PreCheck program as a way to get through the security process quicker, but hopeful walk-in applicants stood in line at the administration’s PreCheck application center downtown for as long as three hours.
OK, so you want us to sign up for PreCheck, but we’d have to stand in a three-hour line to do it? Sounds a bit contradictory. Just saying. Oh, and if you’re looking for an appointment at one of Chicago’s three PreCheck application centers, you’ll have to wait at least 45 days because they are booked solid. So there’s that.
For more, check out the Tribune’s report.
@RianneCoale | rcoale@redeyechicago.com
