After a busy travel year that left the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
scrambling to recover from crushing lines and country-wide criticism,
TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger said his agency is ready for the flood
of holiday travelers next week.
"I think TSA is on a good, upward trajectory," Neffenger said in an interview earlier today with ABC News' David Kerley.
According to Airlines for America
(A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines,
27.3 million passengers are expected to travel globally on U.S. airlines
during the Thanksgiving travel period, up from 2.27 million who
traveled in the same period last year. Many travelers are wondering what
to expect as they fly home for the holiday.
During
the Spring Break travel period, travelers faced hours-long security
lines, causing many people to miss their flights. Frustration toward the
TSA grew exponentially.
"We simply didn't have the number of people we needed for the volume of passengers," Neffenger explained.
In response to the long wait times, Neffenger said his agency has made significant changes to address fliers' complaints.
"We
brought on about just shy of 1,400 new transportation security officers
this summer, we converted about 2,000 [employees] from part-time to
full-time, [and] we've added about another 50 or 60 canines which allow
us to rapidly move people through the line," Neffenger said in the
interview.
Neffenger explained that the agency also increased its ability to reach its customers, using social media like Twitter and Facebook
to work with travelers that encounter problems on their journeys.
Anecdotally, the response to the new workforce has been mostly positive,
Neffenger said.
"We get criticism as well, but we're able to
actually act on it very quickly now, where the goal is about a 15 minute
turnaround when somebody writes to us," said Neffenger.
He
added: "No security system will ever be a 100 percent acceptable to
everybody that goes through, but the goal is to reduce the tension,
reduce the friction to the traveler, and to try to make it at least as
pleasant an experience as it can be, given that we have to screen people
to make the system safe."
Kerley asked Neffenger what travelers can expect in the coming months and years.
"Ultimately,
you can't staff you way out of growth. You really need to transform the
system," Neffenger explained, referring to the "innovation lanes" that
allow travelers to load their belongings on to an automated belt and
bypass people who may be taking more time to unload their belongings at a
checkpoint, expediting the screening process by an estimated 20 to 30
percent. Currently, these innovation lanes have been installed at
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Los Angeles
International Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport, amongst others.
TSA will also look at expanding its use of biometrics.
"To
the extent that you're willing to provide additional information about
yourself and biometrics, technology right now would allow us to expedite
you through even better, ultimately removing the need to do document
checks for people who are already in the system," Neffenger said.
Passengers can opt out of the program, he added.
How will a new White House administration impact the TSA?
"We're working the transition right now," said Neffenger, referring to President-elect Donald Trump.
"We're
looking forward to ensuring a smooth transition to the incoming
administration. We've got a lot of issues to work with... [but] we're
going to make sure there's no reduction in transportation security as we
move through the next few months," he noted.
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