Delta hiring 40 people to help TSA at MSP airport

Delta Air Lines will hire 40 people this summer to help federal agents get passengers through security faster at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a company executive said Monday.

The Atlanta-based carrier will spend between $3 million and $4 million on additional staff at its 32 largest U.S. hubs from June to August. The move is in response to chronically long lines at airports across the nation.

But Delta will not consider dropping its checked baggage fees, said Bill Lentsch, senior vice president of airport customer service and airport operations.

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson recently joined a number of senators in asking airlines to waive checked bag fees. The government officials say that would mean passengers would carry on fewer bags that TSA would have to screen.

The airlines argue that checked bag fees have been common since 2008 and have not been a problem until recently. They argue that staffing reductions at TSA are the problem.

"We've seen heavy travel periods in the summer months before," Lentsch said. "We know we can solve this."

The airline will be hiring the temporary employees through its wholly owned subsidiary, Delta Global Services. They will be trained by Delta and undergo background checks.

"TSA contacted Delta to see what we could do to help," Lentsch said. "There are some tasks where TSA employees are doing work that doesn't necessarily require their expertise and training."

The additional employees will primarily be helping with four tasks. They will be running bins from the back of the X-Ray machines to passengers at the front of the line, telling customers what they can put into the machine and replacing TSA agents guarding the exit doors near baggage claim.

Delta also will be walking the terminal making sure passengers are adhering to the one carry-on policy.

"We are really striving for the maximum number of lane openings," Lentsch said.

Delta has not crunched the numbers on what TSA delays have cost the company, he said.

The airline is not the only group stepping up this summer. The Metropolitan Airports Commission is adding employees to guide travelers to ticketing kiosks and security lines, as well as two employees to help run bins between the back of the X-ray machine and the front of the line.

Congress also allocated $34 million in TSA funding to pay overtime to the agency's workers and to hire 768 more screeners — some of whom will be at MSP — by June 15.

But TSA chief Peter Neffenger said Friday that the agency still suffers from a high attrition rate of about 28 percent for part-time employees and that passengers should still expect long lines throughout the summer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767