Schumer seeks to cut wait times at JFK Airport
Charging that excessively long waits to go through customs at JFK Airport are hurting the region’s economy, US Senator Charles Schumer issued a personal appeal to the Department of Homeland Security to install new measures to alleviate problems for travelers.
“JFK is a gateway to America and it is a national embarrassment – and drag on the regional economy – that customs lines there are so infuriatingly long,” said Schumer.
In a personal call to Homeland Security Secretary Rand Beers, Schumer requested to have his agency immediately approve 40 new automated passport kiosk machines and assign additional technology and personnel that can be deployed to the customs areas when wait times are longest.
The automated kiosks have been tried out in airports like Chicago’s O’Hare and have reduced wait times by up to a third, according to Schumer.