Frequent flyers give TSA failing grade for fourth year in a row

NEW YORK, NY – Eighty-seven percent of frequent flyers think that the Transportation Security Administration is doing either a poor or fair job in performing security screenings at the nation’s airpor

NEW YORK, NY – Eighty-seven percent of frequent flyers think that the Transportation Security Administration is doing either a poor or fair job in performing security screenings at the nation’s airports, according to a new survey of frequent flyers.

The survey finds that the typical American frequent flyer continues to hold the TSA in low regard with 71.9 percent of respondents indicating the TSA’s screening procedures are either not effective or not too effective at preventing acts of terrorism on an aircraft, an increase of 4.9 percentage points from 2014 and 6.4 from 2013.

In contrast, only 20.8 percent indicated the procedures are somewhat effective, 5.5 percent said very effective, and 1.9 percent said extremely effective.

A total of 2,129 respondents took part in the online survey conducted from August 21 through September 24.

“This year’s survey results show that the TSA has a long way to go to build confidence in its mission,” said Jonathan Spira, editorial director, Frequent Business Traveler. “Our survey respondents traverse security checkpoints multiple times each month and are in an excellent position to render a verdict on this subject.”

Other Key Findings

— Nearly 45 percent stated they were not satisfied with their last security experience

— Over three quarters (76.7 percent) of survey respondents have used PreCheck, the TSA trusted traveler security lanes

— Satisfaction with PreCheck continued to fall from a high of 80.3 percent in 2013 to 62.7 percent in 2015 and the drop may be partially attributed to the TSA’s policy of allowing infrequent travelers, whose unfamiliarity with procedures slows down the screening process, into PreCheck lanes.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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