Letter to Acting Administrator Gowadia - TSA Must Clear The Runway for Buffalo Niagara International Airport's Equipment Upgrades

Letter

I write to urge you to expedite the plans to upgrade the Explosives Detection Systems (EDS) that provide screening and enhanced security for checked baggage at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The Buffalo Niagara International Airport reports that the scanners repeatedly break down and checked baggage frequently does not make the same flights as the owners. This results in interrupted passenger travel as owners wait at their destination for baggage to arrive on a different flight.

The TSA informed Buffalo Niagara International Airport that the agency intends to improve reliability of the scanners through a software upgrade, but the timeline for this upgrade is unclear and could be delayed for a year or two. The agency's ongoing maintenance work to correct inefficiencies is proving insufficient, particularly during the busy holiday travel season, as multiple scanners are often completely out of service at the same time which increases the time it takes to scan checked baggage.

Buffalo Niagara International Airport serves over 4.6 million passengers annually and actively works to deliver high quality customer service and satisfaction. Upgrading the Airport's checked baggage scanners, originally installed ten-years ago, is essential to ensuring passengers and their bags arrive at their destinations safely and with their owners. Buffalo continues to take important steps to ensure safe and quality travel, and that is why I urge the TSA to upgrade the Buffalo Niagara International Airport EDS as soon as possible to ensure checked baggage make it on to the same flights as the owners.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff.

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