TSA Sends Dozens of Security Screeners to Chicago's O'Hare Airport to Reduce Long Wait Times

CHICAGO (TheBlaze/AP) — The Transportation Security Administration is immediately sending 58 new security officers and four more bomb-sniffing dog teams to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to address long delays at security checkpoints.

This picture gives you an idea of what passengers in security lines at O'Hare are facing.#iHateTheWait pic.twitter.com/BUNf4pxPvp

— Suzanne Le Mignot (@SuzanneLeMignot) May 16, 2016

American Airlines put out cots for fewer than 100 travelers who missed their flights Sunday night due to the long lines at security checkpoints, WBBM-TV reported, adding that the airline said about 4,000 passengers have missed flights at O’Hare since February because of the long wait times.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's office says Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson assured the Illinois Democrat on Tuesday that resources are being directed to O'Hare, an important air traffic hub. Illinois' other senator, Republican Mark Kirk, demanded the TSA administrator resign if delays at O'Hare and Midway aren't resolved by Memorial Day.

A long line of travelers wait for the TSA security check point at O'Hare International airport, Monday, May 16, 2016, in Chicago. Already faced with lines that snake through terminals out to the curb, fliers are bracing for long waits at security in the busy months of July and August. Some major airports are currently seeing wait times exceeding 90 minutes at peak hours. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Lengthening security wait times have been a problem at major U.S. airports as passenger numbers increase ahead of the summer travel season. TSA and Congress have cut the number of screeners in the past three years.

Durbin is also pressing TSA to speed enrollment in the PreCheck expedited screening program.