The Transportation Security Administration has directed officers assigned to verify passengers’ identification at airport security checkpoints to remain standing rather than sitting, Fox News Digital reported.
The TSA said in a statement to multiple news outlets, “This welcome change reinforces both our security posture and our commitment to hospitality by having these officers on their feet and alert,” Fox News Digital reported. The agency added that officers must meet fitness‑for‑duty requirements to perform their national security function, the report said.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) TSA Council 100 criticized the policy change, saying the union was not consulted before it was implemented at most TSA‑staffed airports and that it plans to challenge the move, Fox News Digital reported.
Fox News Digital reported the standing requirement applies only to officers assigned to check passengers’ IDs before security screening. Officers who operate X‑ray scanners for carry‑ons may continue to be seated, and TSA officers typically rotate through several checkpoint assignments during an eight‑hour shift, a TSA spokesperson told The New York Times, according to Fox News Digital.
About 20 airports, including San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport, use private security screeners under the TSA’s Screening Partnership Program and are not staffed by TSA officers, Fox News Digital reported.
Daniel Bubb, Ph.D., a commercial aviation professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Fox News Digital that standing on hard floors can cause foot and back problems and that anti‑fatigue mats could help reduce strain. Travel industry commentator Gary Leff told Fox News Digital he did not expect the change to significantly affect passengers’ travel experiences.
Fox News Digital reported it reached out to the TSA for additional comment.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
