It's been 10 years since the Transportation Security Administration was created. And while aviation security is at an all-time high, so are air travel frustrations, according to the U.S. Travel Association, which today released the results of a new survey on travelers' qualms with the airport security screening process.
According to the survey of 4,397 U.S. air travelers, four out of travelers' top five frustrations with air travel relate to the security screening process. Those frustrations include:
1. People who bring too many carry-on bags through the security checkpoint (72.4 percent);
2. Uncomfortable seating on an airplane (70.4 percent);
3. The wait time to clear the TSA checkpoint (68 percent);
4. Having to remove shoes, belts and jackets at the TSA checkpoint (62.3 percent); and
5. TSA employees who are not friendly (42.5 percent).
Meanwhile, 88.7 percent of travelers said they primarily consider the time it takes to get through security screening when deciding how far in advance to arrive at the airport, indicating that — a decade after Sept. 11 — a majority of air travelers still experience inefficiencies while going through airport security.
Travelers: TSA on 'Right Track'
Despite their obvious frustrations, most travelers (66.2 percent) said they're satisfied with TSA's overall performance as it relates to security, with only 12.5 indicating that they're somewhat or very dissatisfied — although those numbers drop and rise to 54.6 percent and 28 percent, respectively, among frequent air travelers.
To its credit, the U.S. Travel Association pointed out, the TSA recently has announced several new initiatives to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the aviation passenger screening process, and the vast majority of air travelers applaud those efforts, with 68.5 percent indicating that they think TSA is on the "right track." Specifically:
• 74.5 percent of travelers are somewhat/very satisfied with TSA's announcement that it will eventually phase out the requirement for persons to remove their shoes;
• 73 percent of travelers are somewhat/very satisfied that TSA will no longer pat down children 12 years old or younger except in unusual cases;
• 69.9 percent of travelers are somewhat/very satisfied that TSA is implementing a trusted traveler program called PreCheck; and
• 68.2 percent of travelers are somewhat/very satisfied that TSA will now use new software for full body scanners that displays a generic stick figure when viewed by security officers.
These new initiatives are good news for the travel industry, as 49.8 percent of travelers said they're very or somewhat likely to take more trips next year as a result of TSA's new screening initiatives — and if travelers took just two to three more trips per year, it would generate $85 billion in travel spending and support 880,000 additional jobs, according to the U.S. Travel Association.