Overall, complaints by air travelers are down, but many flyers are far from happy.
In the Department of Transportation’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report, there was a big surge in complaints over security screening wait times, with a 10-fold rise.
The March report showed 513 complained about screening delays, up from just 48 in March 2015.
More than 1,000 flyers also lodged complaints about the lack of courtesy displayed by TSA screeners – up more than three times from a year ago.
TSA is taking heat at major airports nationwide where up to two hours to check-in and bypass screening is the new normal.
TSA agent numbers are down by nearly 10% while the number of air travelers has gone up by 15% this year.
The agency is trying to rush through training of an additional 500 agents in time for the summer crush.
American Airlines said nearly 7,000 of its customers missed flights in March because of delays at TSA checkpoints.
Both American and Delta Air Lines have offered to deploy airport ground staff to assist the TSA with non-core tasks around the passenger screening area.
