I. Summary In this day and age, more aircraft are flying than ever before. With more aircraft come more passengers. With more passengers there is a greater emphasis on safety. Ever since 9/11 safety has been at the top of the priority list when it comes to aviation. As a result of this the Department of Homeland Security created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) just 2 short months later. The TSA has implemented many rules and regulations when it comes to baggage or even food and beverages that can be brought onto an aircraft. These rules are to help prevent any further attacks or hijackings.
II. Problem In the past 16 and a half years the TSA has drastically improved the types of security measures that are used in and around airports. Using technological advancements, the TSA can search every passengers’ baggage and put the passengers through metal detectors or the full body scanner. The problem with all of this is that when millions of people travel through airports daily these security points start to build long lines quickly. These long lines tend to lead to aggravated passengers and sometimes delayed or missed flights. Many airports want to move towards a contracted security company instead of using the government funded TSA as a means of reducing these wait
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Not only does keeping solely the TSA slow down lines, but because it is unionized many people who should be fired are not because of the extensive process. Many employees that are late to work or have committed violations in protocol remain employed by the TSA because the union makes it harder to fire them. As Brian Sprenger, director of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Montana, has said “Contractors provide a more flexible workforce for my airport, and on top of that, it’s easier to show people the door” (Harnett, 2016). Because the TSA essentially makes the rules for themselves there is really no strive to be