In its 2015 Year in Review, the TSA reveals the top 10 airports for gun catches in 2015, in addition to the best and worst security check wait lines at large US airports.
The wait times include:
Best Wait Times at Large U.S. Airports
Tampa – 11.4 minutes
Fort Lauderdale – 12.3 minutes
San Diego – 12.5 minutes
Detroit – 12.6 minutes
Portland –12.8 minutes
Mid-sized airports tend to do even better, as their size makes for more manageable crowds: The best was Palm Beach airport, clocking in at just under ten minutes.
Worst Wait Times at Large U.S. Airports
JFK – 16.8 minutes
Newark – 16.5 minutes
LAX –16 minutes
Philadelphia – 15.6 minutes
Seattle/Tacoma – 15.6 minutes (tie)
Chicago O'Hare –15.6 minutes (tie)
LaGuardia – 15.5 minutes
Washington Dulles – 15.5 minutes
In addition, the TSA blog reported Top 10 airports for gun catches in 2015
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): 153
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): 144
George Bush Intercontinental Airport - Houston (IAH): 100
Denver International Airport (DEN): 90
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX): 73
Nashville International Airport (BNA): 59
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA): 59
Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL): 57
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS): 54
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU): 52
In other TSA news, the Atlanta Airport has threatened to dump the TSA over long wait lines. In a letter published online, the general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Miguel Southwell criticized the TSA, saying that staffing shortages are causing “unacceptable” wait times at TSA checkpoints.
“Several times throughout the day from May to October 2015, wait times exceeding 35 minutes were not uncommon,” he wrote. “This morning as I write this letter wait times up to 52 minutes were experienced between 6:00 am and 6:30 am. This is unacceptable as reflected in the customer service surveys of our hub carrier Delta Air Lines.”
With a busy summer expected at Hartsfield-Jackson and “no staffing plans to service this mammoth growth in demand,” Southwell wrote, the airport is exploring privatizing the passenger and screening process at the airport.
The TSA allows some privatization through its Screening Partnership Program, which contracts security screening services at commercial airports to some qualified private companies.
According to the letter, if the airport doesn’t see a “dramatic shift in the staffing allowances in the next 60 days,” it will turn to the private sector.
http://www.lmgcorporate.com/wgcl/news/ATLPassengerScreeningStatus.pdf
