ATLANTA — Some of the nation’s busiest airports are — or were — also home to the most Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents fired for theft, according to a new report from ABC News.
With 29 employees fired for theft between 2002 and 2011, Miami International Airport (MIA) topped the list, according to ABC News. JFK International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Las Vegas-McCarren International Airport (LAS) rounded out the top five, according to the ABC report published Tuesday.
Critics have long bemoaned the TSA as a bureaucratic mess while supporters say the federal agency, founded in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is necessary to ensure the flying public remains safe. The report is the latest in a string of bad news for the federal agency.
On Friday, TSA officials said they want to fire 25 employees and suspend another 19 at Newark Star-Liberty International Airport (EWR) after the employees failed to properly conduct baggage screening, according to the TSA and published reports.
Earlier this month, the agency’s Inspector General (IG) recently found shortcomings in the TSA’s procedures, standards and oversight at Honolulu International Airport in 2010.