An aviation expert has suggested that the ridiculous long lines at airport security checkpoints in the last few days could have been purposefully manufactured by the TSA in order to make a point and get increased government funding.
Airports all over the country have experienced gridlock, with videos and images showing lines of commuters literally snaking and tailing back for miles.
Two of the worst affected airports were Chicago O’Hare and Midway. Some travelers complained that it took two hours to clear the security line, blaming the fact that TSA was forcing everyone to take off their shoes and belts.
#TSA: Flew out of Chicago Midway Wed., took 1:45 hours to get thru security. Isn't time to stop with the shoes & belts & computers. Awful!!!
— James Asher (@jimasher) May 13, 2016
Aviation expert Robert Mack told CBS Chicago that the lines were “sort of a perfect storm” and that the TSA knew this was going to happen.
Mack theorized that an increase in travelers as we head toward Summer, combined with fewer TSA workers, and the agency asking for more funding has led directly to the problem.
When asked if the TSA could have purposefully allowed the gridlock to happen, Mack said “It’s possible. Or they could just be completely inept.”
Created Mess To Push Increased Funding? https://t.co/vmltOpqP1t
— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) May 18, 2016
What are the odds here, w all sudden airport trouble, that the TSA union is behind it as pressure for more hiring? https://t.co/5PfX3fbAhB
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) May 18, 2016
Others have suggested that the gridlock has been allowed to happen as a way of enticing people to sign up for the TSA’s Pre-Check program, which charges $85 a head for skipping security lines by allowing background checks to be conducted before the passenger enters the airport.
Really think TSA "crisis" is manufactured. Seems like a road show, opening and closing in one city, then another. https://t.co/798POwpHXp
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) May 18, 2016
The theories were bolstered by reports today suggesting that the lines seem to have completely disappeared without explanation.
No line at all now. Amazing what happens when media shows up. pic.twitter.com/O0ZX5D4C0j
— Brian Feldman (@BFeldman) May 18, 2016
After all the stories about TSApocalypse we got to the airport 2.5 hours early and … got through security in 20 minutes.
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) May 18, 2016
Great experience at JAX! No long lines with TSA here.
— Shannon Whitaker (@shannonwphoto) May 18, 2016
@TSA no problems at CLE this AM. Short lines both Pre-Check and regular. Thanks Cleveland TSA for getting it done.
— Dominic Mancuso (@DJMancusoJr) May 18, 2016
Last week, the TSA announced that poor staffing would lead to more travel delays this summer.
“This is going to be a rough summer; there is no doubt about it,” Gary Rasicot, TSA chief of operations, told the New York Times. “We are probably not at the staffing level we would like to be to address the volume. This is why we are talking about people getting to the airport a little earlier than planned.”
Was this gridlock a case of more security theatre on the part of the TSA?
Of course the TSA blames budgeting reasons for the delays – less union workers. Yet you can always find 5-6 sitting around doing nothing.
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) May 17, 2016
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Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.com, and Prisonplanet.com
