Airport advocates have asked the Transportation Safety Administration to reverse course on a plan to remove agents from airport “exit lanes” to save money.
According to the Global Gateway Alliance, the TSA wants to focus more on outgoing planes while saving $88 million annually by cutting the positions, which will require airports to cover the costs to guard airport exits. The group blasted the plan yesterday, citing security breaches like one in 2010, when a man slipped through an exit at Newark Liberty Airport to give his date a kiss, shutting down the terminal for hours.
In a letter to TSA Administrator John S. Pistole, the group called the plan “pennywise and pound foolish,” saying it could lead to “another TSA embarrassment.”
“The Federal government should be paying its fair share to the most critical airport system in the country, not further shirking its responsibility,” the letter said.
Messages left for the TSA and the Port Authority were not returned.
