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Customs Staffing Shortages Translate to Long Lines

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 23, 2007

• Be a Traveler, Not a Target • Money Solutions for the Traveler • Travel News

Now that snow and ice can’t conspire to keep planes on tarmacs for hours, there’s a new potential villain: a shortage of customs agents.

That won’t interfere with domestic travelers but will be a royal pain-in-the-butt for international arrivals, including American citizens.

Already burdened by tightened passport regulations, passengers arriving into the air gateways of New York, Washington, and Los Angeles may find hours added to their travel time.

Three-hour waits have already been reported at LAX, where 34 overseas carriers use the Tom Bradley International Terminal, and two-and-a-half hour customs delays were common at New York’s John F. Kennedy International last summer.

It will be worse this year because JFK has more international arrivals than it did in 2006, as does Newark Liberty International.

The situation at Washington Dulles could also be worse, since customs staffing is operating at 2005 levels – woefully inadequate for the airport’s 18 per cent increase in international travelers over the last few years.

Customs officials hope to cut wait times to 45 minutes but the Travel Industry Association (TIA) is aiming for 30. Either would be far better than what awaits arrivals in the weeks ahead.

Although the Customs and Border Protection service has spent its full budget on staffing, the head of the union representing its agents says thousands more are needed. TIA is lobbying Congress to free up money for another 200 hires – a mere drop in the ocean according to current projections.

One possible solution is convincing international carriers to rework their schedules so that major international flights don’t arrive simultaneously. American, Continental, Delta, and United are among the airlines petitioned by Robert Jacksta, chief of traveler security for the customs agency.

Customs officials are bracing for conditions similar to those they faced in 2000, the last year before the terrorist attacks of 2001 targeted tourism by involving civil aviation.

In addition to delays, U.S. tourism promoters worry that overtaxed customs agents will give surly service to international arrivals – creating an immediate bad impression of the USA.

One thing is certain: for millions of flyers, the 2007 summer travel rush will be more like a summer travel crunch.

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