The TSA has been in the news lately for its absurdly long lines and increasing delays. Now, Homeland Security has a suggestion to airlines on how to slow down lines: eliminate baggage fees.
The head of Homeland Security has a bit of advice for airlines who want to shorten long waits at airport security: waive fees for checked baggage.
"We've asked the airlines to consider possibly eliminating the checked baggage fee to encourage people to check their luggage rather than putting it in the carry on," Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Tuesday evening.
It's a call echoed by U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal who also pitched the idea in a letter last week to a dozen major U.S. airlines.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the airlines aren't buying it. They say that increasing the number of checked bags will do nothing to reduce security lines, and that bag fees have existed for about eight years without causing significant issues.
Personally, I'm going to side with the airlines on this. The government has no right to tell an airline what fee it should or should not be charging, and it won't do anything to reduce the line length.