Travel Tips

Travel Tip: TSA Delays Begin Before Summer

Locations in this article: Los Angeles, CA

We’ve all seen reports about predicted TSA delays at security checkpoints in airports around the U.S.

But at a number of airports, the problem is already here—before summer.

It was a nighttime departure, as are many international departures at LAX.

The security lines weren’t moving. After 20 minutes in one gridlocked line, I was told to stand in another line.

I spent 34 minutes in the second line. When I finally got to put my bags on the conveyor belt, one of them was flagged for additional inspection.

But there wasn’t a TSA officer around to do the check, so it sat there for another 12 minutes.

You get the picture.

Almost every flight was delayed because passengers couldn’t show up at their gates.

What happened to the passengers who never made it out of their lines? Their checked bags had to be offloaded from their planes.

The bottom line: The TSA doesn’t just need to add more inspectors. The agency needs to add staff for peak times, not for regular eight-hour shifts.

Is that asking for too much? I don’t think so.