Transportation Security Administration

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Travel aesthetic

People are taking photos of their artfully arranged sunglasses, shoes, toiletries and reading material inside the TSA’s drab plastic security bins. This airport security trend is ruffling some feathers though — here’s why it’s controversial.

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Thanksgiving travel is cranking up. Will the weather cooperate?

The Thanksgiving holiday rush neared its full stride at U.S. airports Tuesday, putting travelers’ patience to the test.

https://apnews.com/article/thanksgiving-holiday-travel-airports-roads-38cfcfe5f9d7b19fdc9d843827ed21f9?

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✈️ 1 for the road: Shoes stay on

Photo: Jeff Gritchen/Orange County Register via Getty Images The TSA is introducing new procedures that let travelers keep their shoes on at airport security, The Wall Street Journal reports. Why it matters: The unpopular rule has been in place since 2006, five years after an al-Qaeda operative unsuccessfully attempted to detonate a bomb planted in his shoes on a transatlantic flight. The change hasn't been formally announced but already appears to be in place at airports across the country, the N.Y. Times notes. Go deeper (WSJ gift link). Travelers may no longer be required to remove shoes before boarding a plane For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer have to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain U.S. airports. The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the requirement, according to media reports. Read More.

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✈️ TSA's next rule change

Photo: Damian Dovarganes/AP The TSA's long-standing limits on how much liquid passengers can carry onto planes could be the next airport security rule to be changed, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said yesterday she's questioning "everything TSA does" and hinted that the TSA's next rule change could target the 3.4-ounce liquid limit. "The liquids, I'm questioning," Noem said at a summit by The Hill and NewsNation. "So that may be the next big announcement, what size your liquids need to be." The TSA's rule was put in place in 2006 after authorities thwarted a plot to use liquid explosives. Noem's comments came eight days after the agency ended its "shoes off policy."

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✈️ 1 travel thing: PreCheck's perks prevail

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

As TSA eases security protocols for traveling with liquids and taking off shoes, you might wonder: Is paying for PreCheck worth it? Experts say yes, Axios' Carrie Shepherd and Kelly Tyko write. ? Here are a few reasons why: PreCheck members don't have to remove shoes, belts and light jackets through screening. They can also keep their laptops and travel-size liquid products in their carry-on bags. ⏱️ TSA's wait goal for the standard security line is 30 minutes or less, a TSA spokesperson told Axios, while PreCheck is expected to be 10 minutes or less. Between the lines: "PreCheck lines typically have fewer people and more experienced travelers who won't slow everyone down by trying to bring a full water bottle through security," Scott Keyes, founder of Going (formerly Scott's Cheap Flights), tells Axios. More on PreCheck fees and reimbursement options.

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✈️ Scoop: Skipping TSA

Clear and the TSA are piloting biometric "eGates" at three major U.S. airports ahead of a nationwide rollout, the identity verification company told Axios' Kelly Tyko.

• The pilot program, which is only available to Clear members, begins today at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, next week at DCA, and later this month at Seattle-Tacoma.

? How it works: Travelers step into an eGate that conducts real-time biometric verification, matching a traveler's face to their ID and boarding pass.

• Once cleared, passengers move directly to screening and bypass the TSA podium.

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✈️ Labor Day record

Data: TSA. Chart: Axios Visuals ? Labor Day weekend is expected to cap off one of the busiest summer travel seasons in years, travel news site Skift writes. ? By the numbers: The TSA said it's expecting to screen 17.4 million people — up from 17.1 million last year, and an all-time high. 5 million flights have taken off since Memorial Day weekend, making this the busiest summer in 15 years. ⚠️ The big picture: Growing demand for air travel underscores the need to modernize the air traffic control system, otherwise it could buckle under the strain, Axios' airplane guru Alex Fitzpatrick explains.

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• ✈️ Air travelers without a Real ID or passport will be charged $45 starting Feb. 1, up from the TSA's originally proposed $18. Go deeper.

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Fixing airport security

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios This week's long screening lines at several big airports, tied to the partial government shutdown, are reviving a longtime aviation-industry debate over privatizing airport security. Checkpoints at nearly two dozen airports — including San Francisco International — are staffed by private contractors who are shielded from shutdown-related pay disruptions, AP reports. SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel told AP: "The money's already been allocated, the payments have already been made, and that continues without interruption." 👮 TSA's screening partnership program allows airports to use private security companies chosen by the federal government to run checkpoints. TSA retains authority over procedures and oversight. The agency says private screeners get the same background checks as their federal counterparts. Long security lines at Houston Hobby Airport on Sunday. Photo: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images 🛫 Some aviation experts see the program as a model for keeping security lines moving during government shutdowns. But the union representing federal screeners argues that privatization could erode job protections and reduce pay and benefits for workers.

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TSA Pay Delay

Transportation Security Administration agents are on track to miss their first full paycheck today amid a weekslong partial government shutdown. The lapse is expected to prompt more agents to call out sick as they take on other jobs to meet their financial obligations. The nationwide callout rate for TSA agents is now 6% on average, triple the 2% rate of unscheduled absences before Department of Homeland Security funding expired Feb. 14. Passengers have complained of long lines at airports, especially in Houston (see lines, w/photo). The issue has stabilized somewhat, but could soon worsen, the TSA warns. More than 300 officers have quit since last month. Shutdowns tend to be followed by a wave of resignations and make it harder to recruit; after last year’s shutdown, the TSA lost nearly 1,100 officers.  Meanwhile, the impasse continued yesterday as the Senate failed to reach a 60-vote threshold to reinstate DHS funding.

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✈️ 1 for the road: Airports rally TSA donations

People wait in long TSA lines at Chicago O'Hare on Monday. Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images Major airports are collecting gift cards and stocking food pantries for TSA workers going without pay through a second shutdown in six months, Axios' Avery Lotz reports. Many TSA officers already work paycheck to paycheck, and now they're navigating the annual spring break travel surge without pay. Denver International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have taken to social media to solicit donations.

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Airport lines

Security lines are stretching for hours at some US airports as TSA staffing thins during the partial government shutdown. Wait times vary widely, but some have surpassed two hours at major hubs this week. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, officials are urging travelers to arrive three hours early. For many TSA agents, this marks their first unpaid week since the shutdown began in mid-February — prompting a surge in callouts and resignations. The strain is especially evident at Houston airports, where over half of TSA employees called out on Sunday and Monday. Compounding the disruptions, bad weather is triggering thousands of flight delays and cancellations nationwide.

LIVE UPDATES: CNN is tracking TSA security wait times at 15 major airports across the US, including those in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver. See the current wait times here.

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✈️ Line-sitters profit from TSA hell

BWI yesterday. Photo: Daniel Heuer/Reuters 🖊️ Situational awareness: TSA workers should begin seeing paychecks as soon as Monday after President Trump signed an executive action to pay them while the Homeland Security funding impasse continues. Read the memo. Early-morning lines yesterday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Photo: Megan Varner/Getty Images Record-long TSA lines have fueled new demand for line-sitters — people paid to hold your spot so you can avoid the misery, Bloomberg reports. Steven Dial of Houston charges $65/hour plus $6/hour for parking. He had a full day of bookings within 24 hours of posting on social media, with his longest shift — three hours in line — netting $213. Jimmy Payne started offering the service as a joke, but his inbox was soon flooded with real requests. Keep reading (gift link).

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TSA pay may be coming, but airport delays could persist and ICE agents may not leave soon

Even after President Donald Trump ordered emergency pay for Transportation Security Administration agents to ease long security lines, major U.S. airports on Sunday were still urging travelers to arrive hours early — and federal immigration officers brought in to help may not be leaving anytime soon.

https://apnews.com/article/airport-travel-delays-tsa-trump-a3452b3d6a212905fab23730bbe90138?

Airport bottlenecks ease as TSA workers get paid, but shutdown continues

Frustrating security lines dwindled at U.S. airports Monday, clearing the worst bottlenecks as Transportation Safety Administration officers began receiving backpay for working during the government shutdown.

https://apnews.com/article/airport-travel-delays-tsa-trump-b2dcb2933f62751b6cc13e7d4e2a68d6?