ms. allin or whoever wants to comment. just very quickly because i have a bunch here. ms. allin: yes, mr. carter. i think it's really -- each airport is different. there is a saying in our industry, you've seen one therefore, you've seen one airport. so the relationships that exist are really local and dependent on the people within the organization at those airports. i imagine in atlanta it's much more difficult than it is in syracuse, new york, where we have access to our f.s.d.'s and afsd's and the airlines on a regular day-to-day basis. that's what i can offer. mr. carter: ok. anyone else? ms. beairsto: congressman carter, tucson, -- we have a excellent relationship with our local screening managers and local personnel. they now have layers to go through and models and requirements are dictated and i can't personally say from where. but certainly their ability to react quickly to issues on the ground. that is what we experienced during our peak period in february and march. they are only op

ms. allin, within your testimony you note that the b.d.o.'s could be useful in other positions within the screening model. could you expound for the committee on your thoughts on achieving efficiencies through using the behavior detection officers? ms. allin: thank you, congressman payne. the behavioral detection officers are trained in perceiving people who are going to do something that is not correct. maybe illegal, maybe trying to smuggling something, maybe potential ties. by having them as the ticket document checkers, they have a personal connection to every single passenger that goes through and they can screen each individual as opposed to standing to the side or the back of the line where they're observing behavior. they can better detect people who may need additional screening or discussion. mr. payne: ok. thank you. ms. allin: this is a model that's used overseas that's been quite effective there. mr. payne: ok. wanted to say to mr. cox, all throughout this discussion over the past

ms. allin is president and c.e.o. of the tucson airport in tucson, arizona. ms.eairsto serves as managing deputy commissioner for security in the department of aviation for the city of chicago. ms. philipovitch, senior vice president for customer service at american airlines, and mr. david cox, national president of the american federation of government employees. thank you all for being here today. i now recognize ms. callahan for an opening statement. ms. callahan: [inaudible] security committee. thank you. thank you for inviting us to today's hearing on an issue that requires both immediate attention and long-term sustainable solutions. how to handle growing lines at t.s.a. checkpoints at airports across the country, while maintaining the high standards for passenger and baggage screening we need in order to keep the flying public safe. syracuse international airport is a small commercial hub serving two million passengers annually, providing cargo and general aviation services to central new york. it employs hundreds of people and is a vital component of our

ms. allin, can you share -- you've given some examples. if we had the flexibility with our senior t.s.a. rep on the ground in the last few months, at what instance -- other instances were their hands tied and what -- what have you been able to do that in order to alleviate the problems that we're having? ms. allin: thank you, representative mcsally. when we were experiencing the extreme lines and the challenge that our local representative with t.s.a. had, which is not an f.s.d., as you noted, was the fact there are specific models a certain through-put passengers per hour have to go through the lane before the second lane can be opened up. and that with one standard lane, then a second standard lane had to be opened before precheck. where precheck is the quick resolution because the lane was cut in half when the precheck lane was opened. ms. mcsally: and that direction came from d.c. or phoenix, do you know? ms. allin: phoenix came down when the passengers were calling the media from the lines

ms. allin is president and c.e.o. of the tucson airport in tucson, arizona. ms. beairsto serves as managing deputy commissioner for security in the department of aviation for the city of chicago. ms. philipovitch, senior vice president for customer service at american airlines, and mr. david cox, national president of the american federation of government employees. thank you all for being here today. i now recognize ms. callahan for an opening statement. ms. callahan: [inaudible] security committee. thank you. thank you for inviting us to today's hearing on an issue that requires both immediate attention and long-term sustainable solutions. how to handle growing lines at t.s.a. checkpoints at airports across the country, while maintaining the high standards for passenger and baggage screening we need in order to keep the flying public safe. syracuse international airport is a small commercial hub serving two million passengers annually, providing cargo and general aviation services to central new york. it employs hundreds of people and is a vital component of ou

. >> thank you, ms. allin for your testimony. it's interesting to juxtapose your experience at your airports with what we experience in syracuse. it seems like the larger the airport the more acute the problems and now we'll talk to ms. biersto about that. so appreciate your testimony and you have five minutes. thank you. >> thank you, chairman katko, ranking member payne and members of the subcommittee for inviting me to testify today on this important issue of providing efficient and safe passenger screening at our airports. my name is lydia baeirsto, i serve for the chicago department of aviation overseeing o'hare and midway international airports. chicago manages two of the nation's busiest airport, o'hare and midway, sand the only single city system that serves as a hub for three major airlines -- united, american and southwest airlines, in 2015, 98 million passengers passed through our airports combined. in 2016 and beyond, those numbers are projected to grow. our airports serve as an economic engine contributing $45 billio

. >> thank you, ms. allin for your testimony. it's interesting to juxtapose your experience at your airports with what we experience in syracuse. it seems like the larger the airport the more acute the problems and now we'll talk to ms. biersto about that. so appreciate your testimony and you have five minutes. thank you. >> thank you, chairman katko, ranking member payne and members of the subcommittee for inviting me to testify today on this important issue of providing efficient and safe passenger screening at our airports. my name is lydia baeirsto, i serve for the chicago department of aviation overseeing o'hare and midway international airports. chicago manages two of the nation's busiest airport, o'hare and midway, sand the only single city system that serves as a hub for three major airlines -- united, american and southwest airlines, in 2015, 98 million passengers passed through our airports combined. in 2016 and beyond, those numbers are projected to grow. our airports serve as an economic engine contributing $45 billio