Aviation Director Mark VanLoh deserves a lot of credit for using private screeners at KCI. As noted in a New York Times article in January 2012 they are more efficient than their TSA counterparts, in one study screening 65% more passengers per employee. But Mr. VanLoh also said in a later Kansas City Star article

KCI now has more airport screeners than all three New York airports combined.

Really? That’s an incredibly impressive number, if true.

Think about it. Those New York airports combined have 15 terminals. We have three. And New York screens millions and millions more passengers than we do. And supposedly our non-TSA screeners are up to 65% more efficient.

Something doesn’t make sense. So we did a little research (gasp!) and here is what we learned:

TSA Screeners

“FTE Alloc” stands for full-time employees and only covers TSA officers (or private screeners) and does not include DHS support staff.

So the combined number of those three New York airports is 3,937. Kansas City: 429.

I freely confess that math was not my best subject in school but I can’t recall being taught that 429 is more than 3,938. Maybe it’s that new “I want a new terminal” math.


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