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CAN THE TSA AVOID MAJOR SECURITY DELAYS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON?
Tuesday November 18, 2003FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2003
Contact: Josh Freed
(202) 225-4431
DENVER, CO – U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) sent a letter to Transportation Security Administrator Admiral James Loy today urging him to make sure that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken all of the appropriate steps to avoid the long security delays which passengers at Denver International Airport (DIA) encountered at the beginning of the summer travel season.
“The approaching holiday season is the busiest travel time of the year,” said Rep. DeGette. “The TSA failed to anticipate the seasonal increase in passengers that occurs at many airports each summer. While I appreciate the TSA’s prompt efforts to improve the situation earlier this year, I am concerned that a similar lack of planning could lead to problems during the Thanksgiving holiday.”
In order to avoid long wait times at DIA caused by inadequate security staffing levels this holiday season, Rep. DeGette asked the TSA to ensure that it has a sufficient number of part-time screeners for peak usage hours; deploy members of its mobile screening team to DSA for the remainder of the peak travel season; and develop and implement a plan to reduce wait times at DIA during peak hours as the airport will continue to see increased usage through at least the end of the year. In addition, Rep. DeGette reiterated her earlier request that TSA reevaluate the models it uses to determine the number of security screeners it deploys at the nation’s airports to more effectively take into account hourly and seasonal fluctuations in airport use.
“With the increase in air travel during the holiday season, everyone understands that there will be some delays at airports. What I would like to make sure we avoid, however, are preventable delays like the one passengers at DIA encountered last summer,” said Rep. DeGette. “By ensuring that DIA has a sufficient number of security screeners and that they are deployed during peak travel hours, we can at least mitigate wait times.”
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November 18, 2003
Contact: Josh Freed
(202) 225-4431
DENVER, CO – U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) sent a letter to Transportation Security Administrator Admiral James Loy today urging him to make sure that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken all of the appropriate steps to avoid the long security delays which passengers at Denver International Airport (DIA) encountered at the beginning of the summer travel season.
“The approaching holiday season is the busiest travel time of the year,” said Rep. DeGette. “The TSA failed to anticipate the seasonal increase in passengers that occurs at many airports each summer. While I appreciate the TSA’s prompt efforts to improve the situation earlier this year, I am concerned that a similar lack of planning could lead to problems during the Thanksgiving holiday.”
In order to avoid long wait times at DIA caused by inadequate security staffing levels this holiday season, Rep. DeGette asked the TSA to ensure that it has a sufficient number of part-time screeners for peak usage hours; deploy members of its mobile screening team to DSA for the remainder of the peak travel season; and develop and implement a plan to reduce wait times at DIA during peak hours as the airport will continue to see increased usage through at least the end of the year. In addition, Rep. DeGette reiterated her earlier request that TSA reevaluate the models it uses to determine the number of security screeners it deploys at the nation’s airports to more effectively take into account hourly and seasonal fluctuations in airport use.
“With the increase in air travel during the holiday season, everyone understands that there will be some delays at airports. What I would like to make sure we avoid, however, are preventable delays like the one passengers at DIA encountered last summer,” said Rep. DeGette. “By ensuring that DIA has a sufficient number of security screeners and that they are deployed during peak travel hours, we can at least mitigate wait times.”
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