Are the Lines Getting Too Long at SRQ Security? Airport Authority Asks TSA to Step In

Feb. 15—MANATEE COUNTY — An ongoing problem with backups at passenger and baggage screenings at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport finally boiled over this week at a meeting of the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority.

Authority members voted unanimously Tuesday to request the Transportation Security Agency find the current contractor, Trinity Technology Group, in noncompliance with its contract.

The airport authority also asked TSA to step in to provide interim screening, and to put out a request for a new contractor.

Screening at airports are done either by the TSA or by a qualified private company through the Screening Partnership Program. Screening at SRQ has been through the Screening Partnership Program since 2013.

Authority member Bob Spencer made the motion, seconded by Jeff Jackson to begin the process to replace Trinity Technology Group, saying the company has had six months to increase its staffing to deal with huge increases in passenger traffic at SRQ, but staffing levels have remained essentially the same.

"It's just not working," Spencer said of the backups that have resulted in missed flights and missing baggage. "I would prefer a private contractor. We have to make a change in my opinion."

At times, airport staff and the TSA have had to step in to assist with the movement of baggage.

Long lines of passengers waiting to be screened have sometimes stretched through a concourse restaurant and back to the United ticket counter.

Carlos Beruff, who chaired Tuesday's meeting, was initially resistant to discussing the issue in an open meeting, citing security concerns.

But Spencer, who pledged not to air sensitive security information, pressed on with his motion to make a change in airport screening.

"I agree, the contractor has to go. It's how we go about it," Beruff said.

After listening to all sides, Jackson entered the debate.

"I have been in the line before, and it took us 52 minutes to get through. I fly commercial. If anything, it has gotten worse. We need to put it out to bid to find another contractor, and I am OK asking TSA to take over in the interim," Jackson said.

Rick Piccolo, airport president and CEO, said it could take six months to a year to go through TSA to change the screening contractor. The contract with Trinity extends until November.

Trinity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Passenger traffic, and the growing pressure on airport facilities to serve them, has been building since 2020.

In January, 302,189 passengers traveled through SRQ, compared to 126,704 passengers in January 2021, an increase of 138%. That was in spite of 282 flight cancellations, primarily due to the multiple cold fronts moving across the United States.

In August, the airport authority ranked DeAngelis Diamond-Magnum Builders as its No. 1 firm for construction of a new concourse and expansion of the current concourse at SRQ. The expansion is projected to cost about $50 million.

Passengers would walk along an air conditioned corridor at ground level to their gate and then ascend stairs to their airliner. The project would add passenger gates to the airport, as well as three overnight airline parking spaces.

Do you think the security backups are a problem? Share your story by emailing [email protected]

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