H ooman Nikizad claims to have missed his flight due to long lines at the security checkpoint at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport; and he filed a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration and the Metropolitan Airports Commission for $506.85 — the cost to reimburse him for a replacement ticket, additional ground transportation expenses, and the court fee of $75.00 to file his claim — in Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota.
Man Misses Flight Due to Long Security Lines and Sues for $506.85
The lawsuit by the resident surgeon with the University of Minnesota — which purported that his wait of greater than 90 minutes on Saturday, March 19, 2016 before he was finally screening at the airport security checkpoint by the Transportation Security Administration caused him to miss his afternoon flight to Los Angeles despite arriving two hours before the scheduled time of departure — was transferred to federal court on Friday, June 10, 2016.
“‘I had to buy a ticket with another airline to be able to make my destination and meet my obligations,’ Nikizad said in his claim” — according to this article written by Paul Walsh of the Star Tribune — “which noted the TSA had limited staff on duty at the time and ‘only one body scanner for the regular security line [in operation].’”
Summary
Nikizad claims that the airport and the Transportation Security Administration “have done a very poor job of getting passengers through security.”
You think?!? Talk about the understatement of the year.
I cannot imagine a judge allowing this case to proceed — if only not to open up the floodgates for thousands of other people who were similarly affected by long lines at security checkpoints at airports around the United States to file similar lawsuits…
…and what about the airlines which spent millions of dollars to provide additional staff to man the security checkpoints at airports? Should they sue the Transportation Security Administration for recoupment of their losses as well?
The Transportation Security Administration does need to be disciplined and restructured — if not abolished altogether and replaced with a better security system at airports throughout the United States — but I believe that the success of this lawsuit is remote at best.
Source: Transportation Security Administration.
