DALLAS — The nation’s TSA chief David Pekoske and airport and airline leaders say there will be inevitable ‘hiccups’ this summer as they expect the largest airport passenger crowds since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Labor shortages and sky-high demand have besieged the travel industry, and Pekoske said the agency is ready to deploy as many as 1,000 TSA agents and K-9 units to pain points across the country to counter potential backlogs at airport security checkpoints. The Transportation Security Administration created a position for new hires that will get them up to speed faster and to staff checkpoints better, helping experienced TSA agents with tasks that don’t require certification.
“We expect the summer to be very, very busy,” said Pekoske, who was recently nominated for a second five-year term by President Joe Biden. “That’s not to say that there will not be some hiccups along the way — those things will happen, but we’ll do everything we can to recover quickly.”
