EWR notification about extended wait times going through security

What's the story?  What's the problem? Anyone know?

I posted that email a couple weeks ago.  I flew out on 3/29 at around 4pm from Terminal C - lines didn't look any worse than normal.  Fortunately I'm able to use the TSA Pre-check line.

I'm sure it depends on the time of day.  At least the terminals have enough food options to keep you occupied once you do get through.

Maybe just extra Spring Break traffic?  It was really bad last week in the early morning when I was there

When I flew out a month ago the lines were terrible and they were short staffed so there was no TSA Pre-check line at all (grrrr). I had incorrectly planned to have a nice leisurely breakfast at the terminal that turned into a scarf my food down and run to my seat breakfast.

jamie said:

I posted that email a couple weeks ago.  I flew out on 3/29 at around 4pm from Terminal C - lines didn't look any worse than normal.  Fortunately I'm able to use the TSA Pre-check line.

I'm sure it depends on the time of day.  At least the terminals have enough food options to keep you occupied once you do get through.

TSA is short staffed for some reason. I've flown the past two years on just about everyone's spring break week and it was never this bad.

kristyg said:

Maybe just extra Spring Break traffic?  It was really bad last week in the early morning when I was there

NPR had a story about this recently.  TSA has been reducing staff over the last few years in anticipation of the PreCheck program making things more efficient, but PreCheck is under-enrolled compared with projections. 

jules867 said:

What's the story?  What's the problem? Anyone know?

Mid morning flight to TPA this past Wednesday.  Through precheck in terminal C in under 10 minutes.  Contrast to a flight 3 weeks ago where it was over 45 minutes.  Highly variable and hard to discern a pattern. 

I'm not sure why they thought people would enroll for the PreCheck program. I know it's for 5 years but a lot of casual Flyers are not going to cough up 85 bucks as well as go to a screening appointment which includes being fingerprinted.

It makes alot of sense for business travelers. I have both the US and Canadian Pre-Check ID. They're great. It took forever to get an appointment to be finger printed and have my iris scanned though.

mrincredible said:

I'm not sure why they thought people would enroll for the PreCheck program. I know it's for 5 years but a lot of casual Flyers are not going to cough up 85 bucks as well as go to a screening appointment which includes being fingerprinted.

mrincredible said:

I'm not sure why they thought people would enroll for the PreCheck program. I know it's for 5 years but a lot of casual Flyers are not going to cough up 85 bucks as well as go to a screening appointment which includes being fingerprinted.

Isn't that global entry?

Jackson_Fusion said:

mrincredible said:

I'm not sure why they thought people would enroll for the PreCheck program. I know it's for 5 years but a lot of casual Flyers are not going to cough up 85 bucks as well as go to a screening appointment which includes being fingerprinted.

Isn't that global entry?

That's what came up on the TSA site when I searched for PreCheck.

I agree it would make sense for business travellers and if I flew more for work I would probably do it. So my question is then what's the percentage of flyers who are business travellers? I honestly don't know.

I recently had to fly for business to Orlando and my flight was on a Sunday morning so I was there with tons of holiday travellers. It took about an hour to get through the line. At the middle checkpoint in Terminal C there was one line with a single milli wave scanner running. They were clearly understaffed for the demand. 

I also think there's an atmosphere which makes people unwilling to complain. 

The problems have been ongoing since at least last summer.

kristyg said:

Maybe just extra Spring Break traffic?  It was really bad last week in the early morning when I was there

The easy solution is to just get to the airport at least two hours before your flight, then you don't have to worry about any of this.  And, yeah, I did get up at 3:30am to catch a 6:40am flight on Thursday.  But it was smooth sailing. 

I'm enrolled in Global Entry and travel for business frequently but only get Pre-check about 50% of the time!

"Dozens of Transportation Security Administration employees in recent years have been reassigned, demoted, investigated or fired for reporting lapses or misconduct by senior managers, charges that were later upheld by whistle-blower protection agencies, records show."

http://nyti.ms/1SF7r7S

NizhoniGrrrl said:

I'm enrolled in Global Entry and travel for business frequently but only get Pre-check about 50% of the time!

I thought Global Entry guaranteed TSA pre- check. Anything weird in your name like a hyphen or III?

conandrob240 said:

NizhoniGrrrl said:

I'm enrolled in Global Entry and travel for business frequently but only get Pre-check about 50% of the time!

I thought Global Entry guaranteed TSA pre- check. Anything weird in your name like a hyphen or III?

Yes. I've gotten every time except my last trip when TSA was understaffed.

mrincredible said:

I'm not sure why they thought people would enroll for the PreCheck program. I know it's for 5 years but a lot of casual Flyers are not going to cough up 85 bucks as well as go to a screening appointment which includes being fingerprinted.

I enrolled for free through the United Frequent Flyer program, with no screening appointment.  It was easy and we now get TSA-pre more often than not.  

Maybe the $85 version guarantees it every time (?) But, if I was going to do that, I would go ahead and pay $100 for Global Entry which includes pre-check.  (I believe that DOES require a screening appointment.)

Yes, I do have a hyphen. It stinks since I paid for Global Entry. 

sac said:

mrincredible said:

I'm not sure why they thought people would enroll for the PreCheck program. I know it's for 5 years but a lot of casual Flyers are not going to cough up 85 bucks as well as go to a screening appointment which includes being fingerprinted.

I enrolled for free through the United Frequent Flyer program, with no screening appointment.  It was easy and we now get TSA-pre more often than not.  

Maybe the $85 version guarantees it every time (?) But, if I was going to do that, I would go ahead and pay $100 for Global Entry which includes pre-check.  (I believe that DOES require a screening appointment.)

My understanding it that it's random to keep terrorists guessing. 

For a while I was getting it every fight. Now it seems I don't more often than I do. Status same (relatively high). 

I got such an email before I flew out for a 6:55 am flight last Thursday 3/31.  I got there at 5:15 am and the line to go through security was about a NYC block long. It started downstairs and snaked up the escalator. This was in Terminal C and United had its people organizing the line downstairs.  But it went amazingly fast. TSA had people at each station and I was through by 5:40 am.  I'm not suggesting you don't go early, just letting you know what my experience was. 

No wait getting through security at terminal A this morning.  But the concourse we were at was purgatory.  Terminal C is much nicer.  I would rather have waited in line than entered purgatory. 

Any change in the last few days?  I just checked in for my 6:40 am flight tomorrow.  We have TSA Pre and Premier Status.  2 hours ahead??

@sac, I had a 7am flight (arrived at 4:45a) on Monday and got thru the TSA Pre-Approval line in about 2 mins. The regular line wasn't long at all. 

By 5:15am the regulr line was pretty long. 

flying out of newark today at 12:40, I'm in the dial7 lincoln now and expect to be at the security line by 8:40. 4 hours long enough for domestic?

NizhoniGrrrl said:

Yes, I do have a hyphen. It stinks since I paid for Global Entry. 

The hyphen isn't recognized properly by many of those pre-screen systems and will result in no pre-check much of the time.

Freeway said:

flying out of newark today at 12:40, I'm in the dial7 lincoln now and expect to be at the security line by 8:40. 4 hours long enough for domestic?

I think you'll be comfortably sitting inside security for a solid 3 hr waiting for your flight. Plenty of time

22 minutes from when I stepped in line to the when they pulled my bag off the belt to further inspect it (bag full of photography equipment happens to me once every 5 or 6 flights) sitting at the gate with "Depeche Mode : 101" documentary playing. Rather chill with Dave Gahan for 3 hours than miss my flight lol

Terminal A was fine on Wednesday. no line at all, but I arrived at 8am for a 10am flight and ended up getting on the 8:30 flight instead. Returned through Terminal C on Thursday and I could tell the people in the security line were not happy there.

As I more or less expected, we arrived at Terminal C at 4:55 and were through the C-3 TSA-pre line in 5 minutes.  There was nobody in the regular line. Now in the United Club for the hour or so until our flight boards.