NYC Airports: We Can No Longer Tolerate TSA's 'Inadequacy'

[KamaAina]

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/nyc-airports-no-longer-tolerate-tsas-inadequacy-163404595--abc-news-topstories.html

Management of the New York City area’s three major airports is fed up with long lines at security check points, and they have given the Transportation Security Administration an ultimatum: Either shorten the lines or we’ll find someone else to do it.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, tasked with running John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports, is threatening to privatize the process of screening passengers before boarding their flight, according to a document sent from the Port Authority to TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger.

“We can no longer tolerate the continuing inadequacy of the TSA passenger services,” the letter obtained by ABC News reads....

“The patience of the flying public has reached a breaking point,” the letter reads. Passenger wait times have "risen dramatically in recent months, prompting angry complaints from passengers, terminal operators, and airlines alike citing inconvenience, delayed flights, and missed flight connections."

[whatthehey]

1. Or even better

End this oointless fucking security kabuki boondoggle once and for all

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. Agreed.

[One_Life_To_Give]

22. The appearance is a deterrent, like a cop on the corner by a stop sign.

Seeing ISIL shift to softer targets is a sign of the deterrent having some effect. Is the current process at the right level or going to far is certainly debatable. But the days of anybody just walking up to a plane and getting onboard ended before Hijackings to Havana went out of style.

[whatthehey]

23. Don't buy it. It's widely known to be sieve-like in porosity

And plenty of other countries manage just fine without it, including those who have been recent targets of terrorist attacks. If EU-EU flights were dropping from the skies like Roman candles the point may be valid, but they are not, without the TSA and while their countries are targets for London/Barcelona type events.

It's as much of a deterrent as rules about bringing outside snacks into movie theaters and about as easy to circumvent. Terrorists are really looking for other methods because of cockpit security doors and they know that any attempt to use planes as weapons will be more flight 93 than the WTC as passengers will know they are doomed and at least save the intended victims by taking the plane down over empty countryside.

The TSA is truly nothing more than theater to make idiots feel like something is being done, and that would be fine if it weren't also far more trouble in time and money than that is worth.

[One_Life_To_Give]

25. EU has security. Only difference is level.

As I said you can argue about the level or who employs the screener. But the idea that you can go straight from the Cab to your plane seat without being screened by somebody ended decades ago.

[FLPanhandle]

26. You can't end all security

The 60's didn't have any real security and hijackings went through the roof.

As security increased, hijackings dropped. Improve security, make it more efficient, but remove it completely? That's fairy land.

[scscholar]

2. Seattle said that a month ago!

http://www.kiro7.com/news/sea-tac-airport-to-evaluate-dropping-tsa-for-private-security/200091933

As usual, Seattle leads NYC. I don't know anyone that flies regularly that hasn't missed a flight because of the TSA. My last trip through security took over two hours. I didn't miss my plane, because they delayed it because so many other passengers were that late or later.

[whatthehey]

4. Yep. And with an attacks thwarted score of absolute zero

The only active bomb attempt in the last 15 years was stopped by passengers in line. The TSA is is a way to keep people unqualified for mall security off the streets

[bettyellen]

7. and that is not because they know the screening is happening?

lots of attacks are thwarted in NYC and hushed up because they don;t want to fuck the tourism again.
I'm happy to take of my shoes in order to fly.

[whatthehey]

9. No. It's not.

El Al has no terrorist successful attacks despite far more antagonism from Muslims without doing any of that shit

[philosslayer]

10. Yes, you know why?

They profile. We don't. It's wrong. Profiling is against our values, and I'm glad we don't.

[whatthehey]

14. Sure I do.

It's effective and it doesn't mean fucking grandmothers spend six hours in line getting groped by morons in blue shirts. That's a hell of a lot more wrong.

[bettyellen]

17. Israel has more intense screening and profiling, so they discriminate in a way we can't in the USA

they are a hell of a lot smaller and less diverse. A lot of people cannot move freely in that area because of their "associations". SO you want to swap into being MORE of a police state? Yeah, right.

[leftynyc]

21. Are you serious?

I flew El Al last October and they wouldn't even let me bring my carry on bag on the plane with me. I had to check it (now, does that even make sense?). When I unpacked in Tel Aviv and back in NY, I had a lovely note from the airline that they had gone through my bag manually. And you know what, I didn't care. I knew I was safe flying El Al.

[rhett o rick]

11. I have signed up for TSA PreCheck. I think it costs less than $100 one time, and

a little inconvenience, but it's worth it. Leave shoe and belts on. Dont take anything out of your carry on. And the lines are very short.

[RobinA]

24. If The Government

wants my fingerprints they will at least have to come looking. I'm not offering them up.

[rhett o rick]

30. I understand. They already had mine. nm

[BeyondGeography]

3. Almost missed a flight last Sunday at JFK because of this

They were running everyone through one ID checkpoint. Nightmare.

[elleng]

5. Good they're saying it.

Bad it has to be said.

[Throd]

6. The TSA should be disbanded.

[lindysalsagal]

8. I'm always 3-4 hours early because of their incompetence. n/t.

[rhett o rick]

12. Look into TSA PreCheck. It's worth it. nm

[Travis_0004]

15. Yup

I got through in less than 10 minutes.

global entry is also worth the extra 15 bucks if you ever travel internationally.

[COLGATE4]

16. Even better, look into the Trusted Tfaveler plan.

Costs $100 but includes the TSA Precheck so it's a real bargain.

[FLPanhandle]

19. +1

Could not live without it.

[FLPanhandle]

18. I'm a frequent flyer and live with TSA every week

Wait times will be hard to solve for many older airports as there just isn't enough room to add more xray stations.

The biggest bottleneck in the system is the xray station. The time it takes for travelers to get their stuff out, on the xray machine belt, and successfully get scanned.

This area is slowed down dramatically by inexperienced passengers who don't know what they are doing and take forever, slowing down everyone behind them, arguing with TSA staff on why they can't bring an economy size bottle of shampoo through, not understanding what has to be pulled out, having their stuff fail inspection and be reprocessed, etc. A half dozen business travelers could be processed for one person who has no clue what they are doing.

Since the older airports can't add stations, the only suggestion I have would be to add lots prep stations along the line and get everyone prepared before they get to the xray.

[RobinA]

27. Partially True

but some kind of consistency in the rules would be helpful. Backpack in the bin at this airport. The next airport ordered loudly to remove the backpack from the bin (confusion and delay while everybody removes backpacks from bins.) Shoes off/shoes on/shoes in a separate bin/only use one bin. Step right up here/back off until we tell you. Push your belongings through, don't push your belongings. Loud orders flying around, directed at who is anybody's guess. Go there, no don't go there. Hurry, but don't lose your passport, hurry, get those shoes on, hurry, make sure you didn't leave anything behind, hurry, hurry, hurry, but don't forget anything.

[leftynyc]

20. Awesome

Last time I had to wait in a security line at JFK (October 2015) I was there for 45 minutes. And I was flying business class so anyone who thinks that helps at all would be wrong.

[mnhtnbb]

28. Every time we've flown business class our boarding passes automatically gave us TSA pre-check

and we have circumvented some very long lines because of it.

But we haven't flown out of JFK for probably 6 or 8 years.

My husband, though, always gets pulled out of line due to his hip replacement. For some reason I usually get through--and I also have a hip replacement--
and end up waiting 5-10 minutes for him to get through the whole process.

[leftynyc]

29. Maybe because we

were flying internationally? And to Israel.