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Airport Security Line Relief? Rahm Says Resources Coming To Fix 'Breakdown'

By Joe Ward | May 20, 2016 12:56pm | Updated on May 27, 2016 11:37am
 Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint on May 16. Waiting times at the checkpoints were as long 2 hours. The long lines have been blamed for flight delays and a large number of passengers missing flights completely.
Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint on May 16. Waiting times at the checkpoints were as long 2 hours. The long lines have been blamed for flight delays and a large number of passengers missing flights completely.
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Getty Images/Scott Olson

O'HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — Relief from the awful security lines at Chicago's airports is on the way, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and federal officials.

Emanuel met with the head of the Travel Security Admission Friday before the two announced plans to bring more than 100 new full-time staff — as well as other measures — to help ease congestion at security lines at O'Hare and Midway.

"Chicago is the linchpin of the country's aviation system," Emanuel said at a press conference. "Security is paramount. [The lines have] become a safety and security issue at our airports."

READ: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AWFUL SECURITY LINES AT O'HARE, MIDWAY

About 100 TSA staffers at Chicago airports will be made full-time, Emanuel said. The agency will immediately bring 58 more staffers to the city, with an additional 250 in place by August, the mayor said.

Five security dogs and their handlers will be in Chicago by the weekend, and the agency has tripled its overtime budget, officials said.

The changes were made after travelers this week faced hours-long waits in security lines, which snaked through terminals at both city airports. Cots had to be set up at O'Hare because so many people were missing their flights.

Emanuel said some terminals at O'Hare and Midway were operating at 60 percent of recommended staffing levels. Coupled with the fact that summer travel is increasing, the circumstances created a perfect storm, officials said.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced additional resources for O'Hare and Midway airports. [DNAinfo/Joe Ward]

TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger acknowledged a "breakdown" at security checkpoints this week, and called the situation "unacceptable."

Neffenger said Congress had allocated him $34 million to help "reprogram" TSA operations at major airports, but that the funding doesn't reverse years of budget cuts for the agency.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and a number of Congressmen were also at O'Hare Friday lobbying for more resources for Chicago airports.

"What's going on at the airports in Chicago is absolutely unacceptable," he said. "It's unfair to the traveling public. It has to change. Congress has to be part of the solution."

Durbin has advocated for the expansion of the TSA's pre-check programs, and said the government may soon find a new contractor to make the program more efficient and user friendly.

Emanuel said he would like to see TSA emulate a European version of the pre-check system called "I-lanes."

"I want Chicago to be a pilot city," he said. "We are ready to be a partner in solving this problem."

Neffenger said travelers could see long security lines throughout the summer, as airlines expect a record number of air travel this year.

"This summer will continue to be a challenge," he said.

Despite the frustration of the long lines, Neffenger asked travelers to not take it out on TSA agents, who hate the long lines as much as you do.

"Please thank them for the work they do," Neffinger said. "The long lines are caused by other things."

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