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In a new statement, the TSA placed blame on passengers, claiming that individuals are at fault for showing up to checkpoints unprepared. “Individuals who come to the TSA checkpoint unprepared for a trip can have a negative impact on the time it takes to complete the screening process,” the agency said in a press release, which also included travel tips to help cut down on delays. The release also blamed the uptick in wait times on shrinking staff and a rise in travelers. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, for instance, has seen an 8 percent rise in travelers since the start of

The head of security for TSA, Kelly Hoggan, has been removed from his position after a hearing about the agency's management, the House Oversight Committee says. In an email obtained from the TSA, Administrator Peter Neffenger announced a series of leadership changes on Monday. The position that Hoggan had held since 2013 will temporarily be taken by Darby LaJoye, who is currently deputy assistant administrator. The changes come as fliers complain about long, slow airport screening lines. That problem "has many parts," as NPR's Brian Naylor has reported: More people are traveling, and there are fewer screeners. The May 12...

The head of the Transportation Security Administration warned travelers Friday to expect long airport security lines to continue during the peak summer travel season despite Congress' shifting of $34 million to the agency. Peter Neffenger briefed officials in Chicago on Friday about efforts to address crushing delays in getting passengers through security checkpoints at major airports around the country. Congress agreed to shift forward the $34 million in TSA funding to let the agency pay overtime to existing staff and hire an extra 768 screeners by June 15. The agency is funneling many of those resources to major hub airports...

Truth involves Obama, 'nude pictures of passengers' and fed-up workers. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warns air travelers to prepare for much longer than usual airport security lines, but a Transportation Security Administration watchdog says this mess is simply a matter of the government failing to manage its resources responsibly. On Monday, Johnson stood at Ronald Reagan National Airport just outside Washington and told passengers to expect longer than expected wait times as the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, expedites hundreds of new personnel into service to speed up the security process. In Chicago, passengers were told to arrive three...

TSA's Union Power Grab: Thousands Slowing Down Airports Michelle Malkin All you travelers stuck in mile-long TSA security lines are pawns. Convenient political pawns. Big Labor bosses want more power and more money. Stranded travelers are just the latest victims in this age-old game of D.C. extortion. Union leaders want you to think the fault lies with a stingy Congress unwilling to fork over enough money to fill screener shortages. White House spokesman Josh Earnest poured more partisan fuel on the fire last week by blaming the nationwide slowdowns on "the inability of Republicans in Congress to govern the country."...

When it comes to public employee unions, there's no such thing as a coincidence. All you travelers stuck in mile-long TSA security lines are pawns. Convenient political pawns. Big Labor bosses want more power and more money. Stranded travelers are just the latest victims in this age-old game of D.C. extortion. Union leaders want you to think the fault lies with a stingy Congress unwilling to fork over enough money to fill screener shortages. White House spokesman Josh Earnest poured more partisan fuel on the fire last week by blaming the nationwide slowdowns on "the inability of Republicans in Congress...

(excerpt) San Diego International Airport is sending in clowns from the Fern Street Circus to tickle the passengers’ funny bones, NBC reported. “They are creating content inspired by the traveler experience, so they will constantly be visible, trying out new ideas and interacting with passengers,” said airport spokesman Jonathan Heller. “We certainly think they will be at the checkpoints often, as people waiting in line are a great audience for them!”

Travelers flying out of Chicago just can’t catch a break. With increasingly long lines to get through security at the city’s airports, many travelers have been missing their flights, and some ended up sleeping at O’Hare International Airport on Sunday. American Airlines put out cots for fewer than 100 travelers who missed their flights Sunday night due to the long lines at TSA security checkpoints.

SA Administrator Peter Neffenger said that two of 73 aviation employees with access to secured areas of U.S. airports who were also on the TIDE (Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment) system – the government’s database of “information on international terrorist identities” – had their credentials removed, while the other 71 were “scrubbed” from the database on the advice of the FBI. A DHS Office of Inspector General report titled, “TSA Can Improve Aviation Worker Vetting,” and dated June 4, 2015 said, “our testing showed that TSA did not identify 73 individuals with terrorism-related category codes because TSA is not authorized to...

Colorado's six-time Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Amy Van Dyken-Rouen says agents with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) humiliated her. She took to social media Sunday to detail her experience getting through security at Denver International Airport. She said agents made her go through a full body search even though she has Pre check. "They go around your breasts, they basically go under your butt and the just grab things, not grab, they touch things that are not appropriate and it's really embarrassing," said Van Dyken-Rouen. Van Dyken-Rouen said as much as she and husband Tom travel all over the...

Government oversight officials informed Congress on Wednesday that the Transportation Security Administration continues to operate in disarray, failing to record basic security details for thousands of employees and not tracking official IDs and badges that allow access to the most sensitive areas of an airport. Lawmakers described the security agency as operating "in chaos" and expressed frustration with Obama administration officials as they informed the House Oversight Committee about a range of security shortfalls that continue to endanger the nation's 450 commercial airports. TSA's inability to properly screen and track employees has been well documented for years. However, the administration...

(Watch video at link) Father Kevin Payne is outraged after what he has deemed as a line-crossing two-minute pat down of his 10-year-old daughter Vendela by TSA at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The additional security was triggered by a juice pouch Vendela accidentally left in her carry-on bag. "It was excessive, it was invasive, I was pretty much boiling in my head," he told ABC News. (source) Payne recorded the pat down on his phone and uploaded the video to YouTube despite the fact that the TSA agent lied and told him that filming was not allowed (it absolutely...

Maybe I'm over reacting ? I would have no problem submitting myself for a pat down, I support a high level of security, but I feel invasive touching of Children crosses the line, unless credible evidence exists. On 12/30/15 TSA ordered a full Pat Down of my 10 year old daughter & detained us for over an hour (see YouTube video of the Pat Down, the link is below) TSA policy states PAT Downs of children under 12 should be method of last resort. In my 10 yr old daughter's case, after clearing metal detector, a forgotten Capri Sun juice...

<p>The head of a union representing 45,000 Transportation Security Administration officers says a report conducted by the TSA after a Los Angeles airport shooting last fall doesn't go far enough in addressing threats posed by individuals targeting its officers. The Transportation Security Administration recommended Wednesday that airports post armed law enforcement officers at security checkpoints and ticket counters during peak hours.</p>

TSA is becoming more and more like a totalitarian police force every day, above the law and beyond the reach of accountability for their acts. A Colorado woman, Jamelyn Steenhoek, was recently subjected to what she felt was the equivalent of a gynecological exam by TSA and filed a criminal complaint, only to have the Denver District Attorney’s  Office refuse to prosecute. Cherry-picking DA’s don’t want to fight the feds. Now comes word of an incident this past Wednesday in which an award-winning Jewish author, Phyllis Chesler was singled out for special attention by TSA agents in JFK Airport. Chesler’s flight to Florida...

Over a decade of experience has shown that the nationalization of airport screening was a mistake. ... Private airport screening is the successful approach used by many other high-income nations. Indeed, all main airports in Canada use private screening firms, as do more than 80 percent of Europe’s main airports.

Travelers who attempt to make a joke about strict security procedures at airports have been warned they face arrest. A loudspeaker announcement made by the Transport Security Administration warns the public: 'Any inappropriate remarks or jokes concerning security may result in your arrest.' Concerned passenger Matt Miller recorded the loudspeaker message while passing through George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.

A retired, disabled U.S. Marine in full dress and donned with numerous medals was flagged by federal security agents at a California airport for wearing “too much metal,” and pulled to the side for additional scrutiny — even asked to lift his arms, despite an injury that made doing so impossible. “What does a uniform and heroism represent if our own citizens — in this case, employees of the TSA and security personnel — have not regard for them?” said Patricia Martin, the former Marine’s travel partner, Fox News reported. Cpl. Nathan Kemnitz was injured in 2004 from a bomb...

A wounded war veteran has described the moment security agents treated him like a 'terrorist' on a recent trip to California because he couldn't raise his injured right arm in a full-body scanner and his dress uniform contained 'too much metal.' Cpl. Nathan Kemnitz was awarded a Purple Heart after he almost died in 2004 from an injury incurred from a roadside bomb in Fallujah, Iraq. The brave soldier recently traveled to Sacramento, California to receive another award as his district's veteran of the year. But, what should have been a celebratory experience was tainted when suspicious security workers at...

We all hear the news reports – laptops, tablets, jewelry, cash, and more… stolen from passengers by sticky-fingered TSA agents. Thefts became such a problem that even the TSA had to step up to the plate and take action.In recent years, the TSA has fired over 400 agents for allegedly stealing from passengers in our nation’s airports.Thanks to ABC News and a Freedom of Information Act request, the TSA is releasing the names of the airports where those employees worked. Predictably, many of our nation’s busiest airports also rank at the top of the list for the number of TSA...