2024 Year in Review: TSA highlights a banner year of record passenger volumes, customer service improvements and technology enhancements
Agency experiencing lowest attrition and highest retention rates in its entire history, touts largest screening workforce since the agency's inception
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) marked another successful year, making significant strides to improve security and safeguard transportation systems, accelerate action and commit to our people. TSA and its partners remain ahead of threats to transportation security through a vigilant workforce, continuing to deploy technology, and new processes that increase security effectiveness, efficiency and the customer experience. The agency has also seen vast improvement in employee morale, retention and recruitment.
"Last year, we reached a historic milestone with the highest passenger volumes and the largest screening workforce in the agency's history - an achievement that reflects the dedication, resilience and vigilance of our people across the agency," said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. "In the face of record travel volumes and evolving threats to transportation, our workforce has risen to every challenge by remaining agile with unwavering professionalism, ensuring the safety of the traveling public and security of our transportation systems. I am immensely proud of their commitment to our mission, and the incredible support we continue to receive in our partnerships across government and the travel industry. We look forward to continuing this progress with more technology enhancements and better policies and procedures to increase security effectiveness, efficiency and the customer experience in 2025."
In 2024, TSA:
-- Screened 904 million passengers, a more than 5% increase from 2023 and
increase of 17% from 2022. Screened 494 million checked bags and over 2
billion carry-on items. TSA set an agency record on the Sunday after
Thanksgiving, the agency's busiest holiday travel period on record,
screening 3.1 million people.
-- Prevented 6,678 firearms from getting into the secure areas of airports
and onboard aircraft.
-- Trained and deployed more than 100 new explosives detection canine
teams, joining more than 1,100 canine teams. Deployed canine teams to
national security events such as Super Bowl LVII, Formula 1 Las Vegas
and the Kentucky Derby.
-- Decreased overall workforce attrition 6.7% from 2022 to 2024. Screening
workforce attrition decreased 7.3% from 2022 to 2024.
-- Hired over 8,760 new Transportation Security Officers and Security
Support Assistants across the country. The TSA screening workforce is
the largest it's ever been.
-- Achieved a nearly 50% response rate on the Federal Employee Viewpoint
Survey (FEVS). TSA's Employee Engagement Index, a key metric focusing on
employee engagement and morale. Saw a 5% increase since 2022, and an
overall 66% favorable rating - the highest level in TSA's history. FAMS
FEVS scores were among some of the most improved across TSA in 2024.
-- Reached a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the American
Federation of Government Employees. The agreement provides enhanced
shift trade options for TSOs, increases uniform allowances and adds
parental bereavement and weather and safety leave.
-- Placed renewed focus on TSA's customer experience efforts to enhance
TSA's security mission; better customer service leads to better
security.
-- The TSA Contact Center answered 2.2 million traveler calls and
emails.
-- AskTSA responded directly to three million inquiries, typically
within two minutes, over social media and via text at 275-872.
-- The TSA Cares helpline assisted 69,000 travelers with disabilities,
medical conditions and other special needs.
-- Published the People and Culture Roadmap that outlines TSA's strategy
for developing a culture of trust, belonging and respect and published
TSA's Communication Strategy, which guides the agency in communicating
with TSA's audiences in a timely, accurate and transparent manner.
-- Added facial recognition technology to 1,407 Credential Authentication
Technology identity verification units, which improves security and
accuracy, is faster and has strong privacy protections in place. Added
99 Computed Tomography X-Rays at checkpoints to improve security
effectiveness, reduce physical contact and increase the customer
experience and convenience. Total deployed Advanced Imaging Technology
units, with improved algorithms that lessen the need for pat downs, rose
to 1,100.
-- Added 14 new airlines, enrolled 3.3 million new members, and renewed 2.1
million members in the TSA PreCheck Trusted Traveler Program. Reached a
milestone of more than 20 million enrolled members (more than 40 million
in the DHS Trusted Traveler Program) and added CLEAR as an enrollment
provider, joining IDEMIA and Telos.
-- Issued Next Generation Transportation Worker Identification Credential
(TWIC) cards to the over 245,000 TWIC holders since July.
-- Facilitated the expansion of mobile driver's licenses, a more secure
form of identification compared to physical credentials, in seven
additional states. TSA accepts digital IDs from residents of 15 states
at select airport security checkpoints equipped with digital ID readers.
-- Reissued five performance-based cybersecurity requirements for pipelines
and railroads to continue to strengthen their resilience against
cyberattacks.
-- Continued to inspect more than 250 last points-of-departure airports
(LPDs), using the highest aviation security standards, to ensure they
meet these stringent security standards.
-- Made significant progress in the One Stop Security program, which was
authorized by Congress for TSA to conduct One Stop Security pilots at up
to six foreign LPDs. TSA completed comprehensive aviation security
screening assessments on four foreign airports with an eye towards
commencing One Stop operations in 2025. Through the One Stop Security
program, there is international cooperation and mutual recognition of
security standards between United States and foreign countries and is
designed to streamline the security process for passengers connecting
through U.S. airports from select international locations, eliminating
the need for additional TSA screening for passengers and their luggage.
TSA to announce One Stop Security updates and locations in early 2025.
-- Continued to strengthen industry partnerships. TSA collaborated with the
U.S. Travel Association and newly established Commission on Seamless and
Secure Travel through a series of field engagements and information
sharing. Through the airport partnership program, airports donated over
$90 million in checkpoint equipment to TSA.
-- Announced final rules for the Frequency of Renewal Cycle for Indirect
Air Carrier Security Programs, and Minimum Standards for Driver's
Licenses and Identification Cards Acceptable by Federal Agencies for
Official Purposes and Waiver for Mobile Driver's Licenses.
-- Published Notices of Proposed Rulemaking ahead of published rule on REAL
ID Phased Enforcement starting May 7, 2025 and Enhancing Surface Cyber
Risk Management.
-- Published a final rule for the Flight Training Security Program to
improve its efficiency and effectiveness, including the security threat
assessment process for flight training students.
As adversaries adapt their tactics and new threats arise, TSA's law enforcement arm continues to adjust approaches to transportation security to meet and defend against these threats, namely:
-- The TSA Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS):
-- Provided intelligence-based security on thousands of missions in
both the air and on the ground.
-- Supported other federal agencies with their unique security needs
while still continuing to conduct our transportation security
mission.
-- Conducted 6,700 VIPR operations, trained over 5,700 crewmembers in
self-defense and hosted 27 training program classes for new Federal
Flight Deck Officers.
-- Over the last two years, TSA FAMS:
-- Hired over 500 employees, achieving more than 95% of hiring
goals for both years.
-- Improved FAMS employee satisfaction, which increased by 25%
between 2022 and 2024. In the 2024 FEVS, over 54% of the FAMS
workforce participated and 78% of respondents said they are
satisfied with their jobs.
-- Improved FAMS engagement in their jobs. Engagement increased by
8% between 2022 and 2024. Global satisfaction across FAMS
increased by 25% between 2022 and 2024.
-- Federal Flight Deck Officers covered over 1 million domestic and
international flights.
-- Special Agents developed evidence of human trafficking in 32 criminal
specific and pre-employment examinations. They continued to partner with
Homeland Security Investigations through the Computer Crimes Center
(C3), Angel Watch, Center for Countering Human Trafficking, Internet
Crimes Against Children Task Program and the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children.
Download the TSA 2024 Year in Review: By the Numbers infographic.
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SOURCE Transportation Security Administration
