Nearly 90 percent of frequent flyers think the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is doing either a poor or fair job with checkpoint screenings at U.S. airports, says a new survey of frequent flyers done by Frequent Business Traveler magazine in partnership with FlyerTalk and ExpertFlyer.
The magazine asked 2,129 flyers to rate their recent security checkpoint experiences between August 21 and September 24, 2015.
The survey found that 71.9 percent of respondents felt TSA's screening procedures were either not effective or not too effective at preventing acts of terrorism on an aircraft. This was up 4.9 percentage points from 2014 and 6.4 from 2013.
Only 20.8 percent of respondents felt the agency's procedures were somewhat effective, while 5.5 percent said they were very effective, and 1.9 percent said they were extremely effective.
For the first time since Frequent Business Traveler began tracking TSA traveler satisfaction, the number of respondents who said that they were not satisfied with their most recent TSA experience rose. In the 2015 survey, 44.6 percent of participants said they were not satisfied with their most recent TSA experience, as compared to the 38.8 percent that said they were not satisfied last year.
The rise was unprecedented, given that 2015 was the first time since the survey began in 2012 that the number of respondents unsatisfied with their most recent experience had risen, perhaps indicating rising complacency within the TSA ranks.
While the number of air passengers using the TSA's PreCheck trusted traveler program continues to grow, the number of those reporting that they had used it in the 2015 survey declined slightly, although the change was statistically insignificant, dropping from 78.1 percent to 76.7 percent.
TSA began offering PreCheck in 2011, offering expedited screening to selected passengers as part of the agency's emphasis on risk-based security. Because PreCheck passengers are already screened, TSA says it can focus its screening resources on higher-risk passengers.
TSA PreCheck offers shorter lines at separate security checkpoints where passengers can keep their shoes on, and leave their laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags.
Travelers using PreCheck are generally more positive about their experience at the security checkpoints.
In 2015, 10.1 percent were not satisfied with the experience, an increase over 2014 and 2013, where 6.6 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, indicated dissatisfaction with the process. The increase in dissatisfaction can, in some part, be attributed to the TSA's policy of sending passengers who are not signed up for PreCheck into the PreCheck lines, as this makes the wait longer and these passengers' lack of experience slows the entire process as they attempt to take off shoes, remove laptops, and take off light outerwear.
The poll and strong opinions relating to the TSA sparked a heated discussion in the checkpoints, borders, and policy-debate subforum on FlyerTalk, where it was clear that the TSA was not very well liked by the frequent flyer segment. Words such as "incapable" and "incompetent" were used more than once, and several commented that the TSA has "failed" in its mission calling the expenditures on the TSA a "waste of time and money."
The results and overall feelings regarding experience and the TSA's effectiveness point to the conclusion that the agency still has a long way to go. The continued poor showing for the TSA in this poll, an increase in dissatisfaction with the agency's PreCheck program of 3.5 percentage points – combined with the TSA screeners' failing to detect explosives and weapons in nearly every undercover test that has been publicly reported – suggests that the agency is doing little right.
Vast improvements are needed to improve airport security and give the traveling public more confidence in the agency's ability to fight terrorism in the skies.
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