Airport Business - 38

WASHINGTON WATCH
AUTHOR Kevin Burke, ACI-NA President & CEO

ACI-NA is Working for Solutions to
Alleviate Checkpoint Congestion
ONE OF the most pressing challenges facing airports today is
congestion at security checkpoints and entry into the United
States. There's no doubt that long security and border control
lines are frustrating for passengers and airports alike and that
they have a significant impact on the travel experience for
millions of people every day.
The good news is that there has
been meaningful progress on these
issues in recent months. Airports
Council International-North America
(ACI-NA) is leading the charge to
implement policy changes that will
increase staffing for both Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) and U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP),
which will go a long way to alleviating
these problems. And we will continue
to advocate for resources and better
processes to improve passenger security
screening and facilitation.
In addition to modernizing our
airport infrastructure, ensuring airports
have an adequate number of TSA and
CBP personnel is one of the most
effective ways to reduce long wait times
and crowded ports-of-entry. For too
long, the lack of staffing resources has
detracted from the efficiency of the
aviation system. In fact, CBP's own
workload staffing model shows another
3,700 CBP officers are needed to meet
the growing demands of trade and travel

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KEVIN M. BURKE

Kevin M. Burke, is President and CEO of
Airports Council International - North
America.

through the airports, land ports, and
seaports around the country.
Staffing shortages cause significant
travel disruptions and negatively
impact the U.S. economy. The average
international traveler spends $4,200 per
visit traveling to the United States, but
persistent wait times and missed f light
connections could discourage travel,
therefore hurting the economy.
Recent legislation introduced in
the Senate will take important steps to
fix inadequate staffing. The Securing
America's Ports of Entry Act, introduced
by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and
Gary Peters (D-MI), would increase the
authorized number of CBP officers by
at least 600 annually to help the agency
meet its current and future staffing
needs. It would also provide greater
transparency and accountability to CBP's
increasing reliance on reimbursable
services agreements and temporary duty
assignments to cover its system-wide
staffing shortfalls.
ACI-NA supports this bipartisan
legislation and recently signed a letter
to Congress with leading voices from
various shipping, tourism, travel, trade,
law enforcement and employee groups
urging them to pass this important bill.
Further, the House of Representatives
recently advanced the FY 2020 DHS
Funding Bill, which includes big wins
for airports. Specifically, the measure
calls for boosting CBP officer staffing
at ports-of-entry and maintaining several

38 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

important TSA airport security programs.
Technology also plays an important
role in ensuring that we are addressing
long wait times. ACI-NA has supported
airports as they implement innovative
technologies including biometrics,
Mobile Passport Control - which is
now available at 26 of our nation's
busiest airports - and Automated Passport
Control kiosks at most others to help
expedite entry into the United States.
The success of Mobile Passport is directly
attributable to the strong partnerships
between airports and CBP.
ACI-NA also supports airports as
they continue to proactively promote
Trusted Traveler Programs - including
TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and
NEXUS - to expedite security screening
and processing at U.S. and Canadian
airports for pre-approved passengers.
These programs all play an important role
in streamlining the screening process and
moving passengers through checkpoints
efficiently.
As airports continue to implement
procedures that will improve the
screening and facilitation process,
ACI-NA will simultaneously work to
ensure better policies are coming out
of Washington. We've made important
progress even just this year and remain
committed to fixing this critical issue for
our airports and the millions of travelers
we serve each year. 
Airport Business

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