Weighing The Costs And Benefits Of TSA Delays

Published May 31, 2016 at 12:52 PM CDT

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Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint on May 16, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Waiting times at the checkpoints today have been reported to be as long 2 hours. The long lines have been blamed for flight delays and a large number of passengers missing flights completely. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

After weeks of scrutiny, the Transportation Security Administration took steps to limit delays at the nation’s airports over Memorial Day weekend. And while many holiday travelers were pleasantly surprised by the manageable wait times, staffing and budget problems at the TSA all but guarantee long lines will return.

All that idle standing in line is lost productivity, but aviation security expert Arnold Barnetttells Here & Now‘s Robin Young not to get too fixated on the wait—there’s an even bigger cost to sloppy security, he says.

Guest

Arnold Barnett, professor of statistics at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.