More TSA agents dispatched to O’Hare to combat long security lines

CHICAGO – 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.

Security lines with waits of more than two hours 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.