American Airlines said it will spend $4 million on private contractors to help speed up waiting lines at TSA screening checkpoints.
AA chief operating officer Robert Isom said it won’t completely end the long delays, but is a good start, and again called for more staffing of Transportation Security Administration agents at the country’s airports.
The private contractors hired by American will perform supplementary tasks such as managing lines more effectively and collecting bins so that TSA officers can concentrate on their core tasks of screening passengers.
Tens of thousands of American Airlines passengers have missed flights due to the long waits, Isom said in a letter to employees.
"The money will fund contract staff to relieve TSA officers from non-screening functions, like bin running and queue management, so that TSA officers can focus solely on the screening and security aspects of their jobs," he wrote in the letter.
According to Isom, the long lines ‘evoke frustration from all of us, as well as our customers who continue to miss flights due to lines that are literally out the door.’
"Long lines also aren’t fair to our team members, who ultimately take the brunt of our customers’ frustrations," he added.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged the frustrations of both airlines and customers, but said there will be no compromise on security standards.
He asked passengers to remain patient while the department works to cut delays as it brings online more TSA agents.
