More Transportation Security Administration staff will be dispatched to O’Hare International Airport in response to interminable security lines causing thousands of passengers to miss flights.
Fifty-eight security officers and four bomb-sniffing canine teams will be sent to O’Hare “immediately,” according to an announcement Tuesday from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
A separate announcement from the city later in the day said 100 current TSA officers at O’Hare and Midway Airport will shift from part time to full time within days; 250 additional officers will be assigned to both airports by August; more morning shifts will be added for screeners; and the amount of authorized overtime will triple.
Officials with the TSA and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Chicago Department of Aviation spokesman said TSA would provide the city with a more detailed plan.
It remains to be seen whether the new staffers can make a dent in the hourslong wait times at some airports that have forced airlines to hold planes at their gates while more passengers clear security. O’Hare officials are advising passengers to arrive three hours before their flights.
Lines over two hours long caused around 450 American Airlines passengers to miss their flights out of O’Hare on Sunday, and many who could not get onto a later flight slept at the terminal, according to a company spokeswoman.
TSA officials announced this week it will hire almost 800 new officers for airports nationwide this month and put up more funding for part-time workers and overtime. Congress authorized the agency to shift $34 million to pay for additional officers. About $26 million will go toward additional hours for front-line officers, including more overtime and part-time officers, while $8 million will be used to hire 768 officers this month instead of in September as planned.
But the union that represents those workers contends that is nowhere near enough staffing. To address the issue, union leaders say around 6,000 more full-time agents are needed, particularly in time for the busy summer season, when many airlines are anticipating record numbers of fliers.
The added canine units, which can speed up lines by sniffing passengers for explosives, would mean eight dogs assigned to O’Hare. A Chicago Department of Aviation spokesman previously said TSA budgeted for 15 bomb-sniffing dogs at O’Hare and Midway, which has just one.
The unusual delays have been blamed on woeful understaffing and more stringent security measures, compounded by an uptick in the number of travelers.
The TSA now has about 42,000 officers, down from 47,000 in 2013. During the same period, passenger volume has risen 15 percent, to 740 million from 643 million, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers.
The problem also hurts airline operations, as airlines risk flying out with half-empty planes if lines are too long. Airlines sometimes pull people to the front of the line if their flight is leaving soon, or face the tough choice of delaying a flight and causing a cascade of late arrivals throughout the country.
The problems are spurring ramped-up political pressure from Illinois lawmakers.
Durbin said Tuesday that he had pushed for additional staffing in a meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
“Protecting the safety of passengers remains priority No. 1, but poor planning and inadequate funding have led to huge lines and unreasonable delays at airports in Chicago and across the country,” Durbin said. “We need more security officers and more screening lines open and running to bring down wait times, and Secretary Johnson assured me that DHS and the Transportation Security Administration are moving quickly to hire and train additional security officers.”
Durbin also said he urged Johnson to improve enrollment in TSA PreCheck, an expedited screening program.
“Airlines must also encourage more travelers to check bags instead of hauling them through the main security lines, and I’ll be calling on them to waive their checked baggage fees during these peak travel months,” Durbin said.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who is facing a tough re-election battle this year, called for TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger to step aside if he cannot come up with a solution by Memorial Day — the start of summer travel season.
“The flying public is experiencing a high security risk and economic burden from unnecessary wait times and missed flights due to insufficient staffing at TSA,” Kirk said in a statement. “Congress just approved $34 million for TSA to focus funding where it is needed most — at our nation’s busiest airports like O’Hare. TSA should also immediately deploy bomb-sniffing dog teams to advance hourslong lines at Midway. If travelers do not have relief by Memorial Day, TSA Administration Neffenger must resign and be replaced with a leader who can provide fast and secure screening.”
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff under President Barack Obama, also chastised the administration for allowing the situation to balloon out of control.
“It’s unacceptable, not only at O’Hare and Midway, but what’s happening around the country,” Emanuel said, noting the TSA needs to send more resources to the city. “What is maddening and frustrating is that it was all predictable and could have been dealt with months ago.”
Chicago Tribune’s Mary Wisniewski and Bill Ruthhart contributed.
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