For the 3-month peak travel season, an estimated $4.3 billion will be lost, according to the study. The lost money could have supported 37,500 additional domestic jobs.
“The problems at TSA security lines are costing our economy almost a billion and a half dollars in spending and more than 12,000 jobs every month,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, a travel industry nonprofit.
Blame for the long security lines has been aimed in multiple directions.
“The long wait times we’re seeing now are a direct result of Congress’s failure to give TSA the money it needs to do its job,” said the president of the TSA’s employee union, Jeffrey David Cox, Sr.
Travel Association executive, Jonathan Grella, told Bloomberg that “the stare-down match or game of chicken,” that Congress and the TSA are engaging in, “maybe adorable to some, but the chickens will come home to roost once summer travel season begins.”
Five Worst Airports for Flight Delays
Ranked by Time.com and based on Department of Transportation data.
- San Francisco, CA (SFO)—28 percent of flights are late
- Miami, FL (MIA)—24 percent of flights are late
- Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL)—23 percent of flights are late
- Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW)—23 percent of flights are late
- Denver, CO (DEN)—23 percent of flights are late
Five Worst Airlines for Flight Delays
- Spirit Airlines—35 percent of flights are delayed
- Virgin America—26 percent of flights are delayed
- JetBlue—24 percent of flights are delayed
- Frontier—22 percent of flights are delayed
- SkyWest—21 percent of flights are delayed
