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Schumer: More Canine Units Could Alleviate TSA Airport Wait Line Problems

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- U.S. Sen Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday called on the Transportation Security Administration to bring in more canine units for airport security screenings.

As 1010 WINS' Samantha Liebman reported, the call came with airport security wait times up at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and the summer travel season fast approaching, Schumer called on the TSA to deploy more canine teams to screen passengers.

"When you have one of these dogs, you don't have to take off your shoes. You don't have to take off your jacket. You don't have to take off your belt. They can even sniff whatever baggage you're carrying on," Schumer said.

He said New York City area airports have around half the recommended number of canines, and they are needed here the most due to the volume.

"When our flights take too long or are delayed because of the long lines, people don't get to their flights, it spreads across the country," Schumer said.

Schumer said the Department of Homeland Security has more than 900 trained dogs, but lends them out to other agencies.

Lately, travelers across the country have endured lengthy lines, some snaking up and down escalators, or through food courts, and into terminal lobbies. At some airports, lines during peak hours have topped 90 minutes. Airlines have reported holding planes at gates to wait for passengers to clear security.

In the past three years, the number of front-line screeners went from 47,147 to 42,525 in anticipation that an expedited screening program called PreCheck would speed lines. However, not enough travelers have enrolled.

PreCheck gives previously vetted passengers special screening. Shoes, belts and light jackets stay on. Laptops and liquids stay in bags. And these fliers go through standard metal detectors rather than the explosive-detecting full-body scanners most pass through.

PreCheck security lanes can screen 300 passengers an hour, twice that of standard lanes.

The TSA's goal was to have 25 million fliers enrolled in the program. But as of March 1, only 9.3 million people were PreCheck members. Getting once-a-year fliers to join has been a challenge.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently said it would step in if the TSA does not come up with a solution to decrease wait times.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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