WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) sent a letter to Acting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Deputy Administrator Patricia Cogswell asking her to meet with Brian Ryks, Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, about understaffing at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport (MSP). Last week, Ryks sent a letter to TSA expressing concern about TSA’s decision to cease staffing at the security checkpoint directly linking the Intercontinental Hotel to Terminal 1 at MSP. In the letter, Klobuchar and Smith reiterated the need to address the continued inadequate staffing levels at MSP and urged TSA to maintain staff at the checkpoint linking the hotel.
“We write to express our continued concern regarding understaffing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). We also respectfully request that you agree to meet with Mr. Brian Ryks, Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, regarding these issues,” the senators wrote. “We share [Mr. Ryks’] concerns regarding inadequate staffing levels at the airport and urge TSA to maintain staff at the checkpoint connecting the hotel. We also urge you to meet with the Metropolitan Airports Commission to discuss the negative impact that closing this checkpoint would have on the airport’s operations, including by increasing wait times for passengers.”
“We look forward to working with you to ensure MSP and TSA have an effective partnership that provides passengers with a safe and efficient security screening process.”
The full text of the letter can be found below:
Dear Acting Deputy Administrator Cogswell:
We write to express our continued concern regarding understaffing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). We also respectfully request that you agree to meet with Mr. Brian Ryks, Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, regarding these issues.
We understand that Mr. Ryks sent you a letter on October 23 expressing concern about the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) decision to cease staffing at the security checkpoint directly linking the Intercontinental Hotel to Terminal 1 at MSP. We share his concerns regarding inadequate staffing levels at the airport and urge TSA to maintain staff at the checkpoint connecting the hotel. We also urge you to meet with the Metropolitan Airports Commission to discuss the negative impact that closing this checkpoint would have on the airport’s operations, including by increasing wait times for passengers.
In addition, we would like to reiterate the concerns expressed in our August 21 letter to TSA regarding increased security wait times at the airport, and we again request that TSA review the authorized staffing allocation at MSP to ensure the airport has the resources that it needs.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. We look forward to working with you to ensure MSP and TSA have an effective partnership that provides passengers with a safe and efficient security screening process.
Sincerely,
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