Hundreds evaded airport security in 2023, TSA says: ‘Larger number than we realized’

They certainly didn’t have pre-check.

The Transportation Security Administration saw an alarming number of passengers covertly bypassing airport security last year, the Washington Post reported.

“It is a larger number than we realized,” TSA spokesperson R. Carter Langston told the outlet, adding that there have been at least 300 cases since March 2023.

The TSA is probing the weak security checkpoints allowing unscreened people to slip through, which have been labeled a “trend.”

One of the most popular ways that is happening — more than 200 were seen doing so — is people cutting through exit lanes typically marked with “no re-entry” signage.

Meanwhile, an additional 80 slipped past the travel document checker (TDC) podium used to review flyers’ identification and credentials. That’s compared to 72 in 2022 and 29 in 2019.

Still, those who skipped the document station did undergo body screenings.

Others have been caught red-handed trying to skip the line, Langston said, noting that “a lot of people lose their patience.”

Still, he also claimed that the “vast majority do not seem to have evil intent” in that most cases seem accidental.

New Jersey TSA Security Director Thomas Carter doubled down, adding that many are either not thinking clearly or forgot some of their belongings.

“Many times it’s left-behind property; people get very upset, it’s almost like they lose their minds. ‘I have to get my cellphone. I have to get my laptop,’” said Carter, who has seen an uptick of security lapses at Newark Liberty International Airport.

However, some attempt to sneak on a flight for which they don’t have a ticket, as was the case for a Nashville woman in February.

Carter noted that a clear post-pandemic “change in behavior” in passengers could be a factor.

At Newark Airport, a prospective solution — closing off areas with glass or plastic barriers rather than standard stanchions with retractable nylon “belts” — has been implemented to narrow security risks.

Carter said the new barriers have “been very effective in helping us prevent any access control events or attempted breach past the TDC.”