INPUT NEEDED: Please Complete Survey on Exit Lane Costs

TSA is once again attempting to shift the cost and responsibility of exit lane staffing onto airport operators. Last month, the Biden Administration released its FY23 budget request, which eliminated funding for TSA staff to monitor exit lanes and proposed transitioning these responsibilities to airport operators. Currently, TSA staffs exit lanes at 109 airports and has been required to do so by federal statute since 2013. 

As we have successfully done many times in the past, AAAE is actively advocating to restore funding for this activity in the FY23 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill to various Capitol Hill offices. However, while some are sympathetic and willing to help, others are not. Many new Congressional staff are not aware of the history of exit lane staffing and the intent of the 2013 federal statute requiring TSA to provide exit lane monitoring as part of its core security mission. Others who have been sympathetic in the past are frustrated that technology solutions have not yet replaced the need for TSA staffing.  

We continue to argue that ensuring only screened passengers and non-prohibited items that pass from the public areas to security-sensitive areas of the airport is a critical security function, not an access control function, and it is part of TSA's core mission. We also stress that airport costs to undertake this responsibility could be as high as $200 million annually; funding that is not included in current airports' budgets. 

To help further bolster our arguments on Capitol Hill, we need your input on a brief survey about the costs of exit lane staffing. The survey focuses on two areas:

• The annual cost the airport would incur if staffing of exit lanes is shifted from TSA to an airport operator, assuming either contractor personnel or law enforcement personnel, and      
• The cost to install and maintain exit lane technology if your airport procured this since 2013 when TSA was required to continue this function.

We strongly urge you to complete this survey. Rough costs estimates are welcome. We would like responses no later than Friday, April 29, 2022, because the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will begin developing funding recommendations for their FY23 spending bills shortly.    

Thank you in advance for your assistance.