The wait continues… Why the TSA must be fixed
June 14, 2016
What could $7.55 billion get you, aside from 7.9 million spec’d out iPhone 6s Plus’ (Make that 10.7 million for Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge fans)? How about a three-hour wait as you crawl your way through airport security? For travelers at terminals across the United States, that wait was very much the case as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines spiked drastically.
Before I rail against the TSA’s countless failures: I get it. We’re talking about a federal agency attempting strike a balance between speed and security, all while dealing with massive crowds of travelers on a daily basis with a limited budget. Compared to this, working at the DMV is a cakewalk.
That being said, it is about time that the TSA takes a long, hard look at itself through its own millimeter wave scanners and own up to its flaws. One of the reasons that the TSA exists in the first place can be found in its title. An organization with the words “Transportation” and “Security” should be able to provide exactly that. And the TSA has failed in that basic aspect. Prior to the reassignment of now-former TSA Chief Melvin Carraway, a lengthy Department of Homeland Security investigation found security failures in important United States airport security checkpoints.
According to NBC, TSA screening officers were unable to detect simulated explosives taped to an undercover agent sent through a checkpoint. Even worse, the same report found that additional undercover Homeland Security agents successfully smuggled weapons through said checkpoints in 67 out of 70 cases. A five percent success rate is abysmal. With the lives of passengers from all over the world at stake, there is no excuse for any individual, official or agency to fail at that rate.
An easy solution is to boost the number of staff manning security checkpoints. Increasing the sheer number of staff for any situation helps, but does not address the core problem.
If the TSA is to effectively and efficiently serve its role as the first line of defense against potential threats to airports, airplanes, and travelers, then it must overhaul the way it trains its employees and the methods it uses to screen individuals.
To be completely honest, I don’t know what the exact solution will be. New checkpoint procedures? Different bin staging areas? (Delta has got the bin aspect down.) All are valid options that should be evaluated. Perhaps the TSA would be best served by evaluating the airline security agencies of other countries internationally acknowledged for their competency, such as Israel.
What I do know is that the current situation is unacceptable, and with the summer influx of travelers, both wait times and security need to improve. Fast.