Today, when you visit an airport, you’ll typically spend around 15 to 20 minutes waiting for your TSA screenings, at least by most passenger accounts.
Of course, there can be outliers where you wait longer, and sometimes you just breeze through. And with the TSA screening around 2 million passengers per day, usually these wait times aren’t a huge deal.
💵💰Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter 💰💵
All of that could be changing, though. The Senate is considering bipartisan legislation that could significantly add to the wait times at TSA checkpoints, making travel much more of a hassle.
Many major airlines are sounding the alarm about the law.
In fact, groups representing major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines, are opposing this law and have issued a warning about what it could mean for the time that travelers spend going through security.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new law, along with some insight into why so many airlines and other travel and airport groups oppose it.
Major airlines oppose a proposed law that could add time to the airport security screening process.
Image source: Getty Images
Congress considers new law that would change TSA screenings for the worse
The law Congress is currently considering would limit the use of facial recognition by the TSA at security screening checkpoints. It would also limit the use of other biometric technologies.
If the law were passed, the TSA would be required to offer passengers the chance to have their identity verified without the use of any of this technology. It would also prohibit TSA from treating any opt-out travelers worse or differently than those who opt in.
Those who refuse to have their faces scanned could not be treated with any discrimination and would have to be afforded the same screening conditions as others who allow the government to scan their faces.
Related: TSA is stopping passengers for an incredibly embarrassing reason
Lawmakers who are sponsoring the bill to change the TSA rules believe that this is necessary as a matter of privacy.
“The TSA subjects countless law-abiding Americans to excessive facial recognition screenings as they travel, invading passengers’ privacy without even making it clear that they can opt out of the screening,” Republican John Kennedy said in May. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley is also a cosponsor of the bill.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines all have a stark warning about this law
While there are reasons to be concerned about privacy issues, all of the major U.S. airlines believe that passing this law would be a substantial mistake.
“Restricting TSA’s use of biometrics is a step backward for our national security,” the airlines and other travel and industry groups said in a letter reported by Reuters.
The airline groups also added that the new law would “prevent TSA from achieving staffing efficiencies through technology automation by requiring officer-based interactions – forcing 75% of TSA’s budget to remain tied to staffing rather than technology investment.”
Related: TSA issues stern warning forbidding popular summer item
If more passengers opt out of face scanning technology and have to get their identities verified in another way, this could also have an adverse impact on efficiency, resulting in much longer delays at security.
The letter from the airlines stated that the change would “increase wait times considerably by slowing down identity verification at every airport security checkpoint.” It could also interfere with various types of innovation, including Touchless ID for pre-check, and could “create an overwhelming and chaotic environment at every airport security check.”
More on travel:
U.S. government issues serious warning for cruise passengersDelta Air Lines makes a baggage change that travelers will likeUnited Airlines passenger incident triggers quick response
It remains to be seen if lawmakers will heed the warning of the airlines or push forward with the change.
If and when they do, the big questions will become whether Americans are waiting a little longer at security to preserve their privacy or whether avoiding giving the government an image of your face and other biometric data before traveling is really worth the price of longer screening times.
