Oops! 11 People Go Through Security Unscreened at JFK

The TSA is trying to figure out how 11 people were able to walk through security without being screened earlier this week at New York’s JFK airport.

CBS News reports that “officers were in the process of opening a pre-check lane when the passengers walked through an unattended metal detector. The TSA believes two supervisors were aware of the breach within minutes but it wasn’t reported until a third supervisor saw it on video at least an hour later.” The incident took place February 20.

Three of the eleven travelers actually set off the metal detector. Airport police weren’t notified until up to two hours later, when a search of the terminal was initiated. CBS news reports that the 11 travelers’ carry-on bags were properly screened. This means the travelers must have been following proper procedure but managed to walk through an unsupervised metal detector.

“My officers were scrambling to find the people who set off these alarms,” Paul Nunziato, who heads the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Benevolent Association, told the New York Daily News. “We were not informed for two hours post this incident. It is unconscionable.”

The Daily News reports that the TSA has identified and intends to discipline the officials who allowed the travelers to slip through. The travelers were re-screened upon landing, which … seems kind of pointless?

It’s been a rough several months for the TSA, starting with the long lines and huge delays of last spring, and continuing with recent revelations about it’s ineffective, unscientific behavioral screening program. It’s also worth noting that that President Trump has yet to even nominate a new TSA director after previous director Peter Neffeneger stepped down over a month ago.

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• TSA Warns Travelers: New ID Requirements Coming in 2018