New York's airports are fed up with the "inadequacies" of the TSA, and they've thrown down an ultimatum: figure out how to make the lines go faster, or they'll switch to a private screening firm.
In the period of March 15 through April 15, there were 253 instances where security waits were longer than 20 minutes. Comparatively, for that period in 2015, there were 10 such instances. This, according to Port Authority, is completely unacceptable and must change--soon.
“The patience of the flying public has reached a breaking point,” the letter reads. Passenger wait times have "risen dramatically in recent months, prompting angry complaints from passengers, terminal operators, and airlines alike citing inconvenience, delayed flights, and missed flight connections."
While the Port Authority says it understands the challenges facing TSA, it says it “is exploring the merits” of participating in private screening “to enhance flexibility in the assignments and operating hours of front line screening staff.”
Given that the TSA has failed the majority of the security tests, maybe switching to something else wouldn't be entirely a bad thing.