According to newly released documents from Department of Homeland Security, there have been more than 25,000 security breaches, or seven breaches a day, at U.S. airports since November 2001. The documents were presented today at a hearing on the TSA and airport security at the House Subcommittee on National Security.
USA Today received advanced copy of the documents and say they show 6,000 security breaches when TSA personnel failed to screen or improperly screened passengers’ carry-on items. It also showed more than 1,300 incidents in which someone gained unauthorized access from airport perimeters to aircraft operations.
“It’s clear the airports are not secure,†said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, (R-Utah) chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security. “For all the money, time and persistence we have thrown at airport security, it’s a real mess.â€
But TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball sings a different tune about airport security. “We have taken extensive steps to increase the safety of the traveling public, and that is why airports today are safer than before,†he said.
