Minnesota Officials Complain About Long Lines at Minneapolis Airport

If you've flown out of the Minneapolis Airport recently, you know about the revamped TSA checkpoints that have increased wait times dramatically. Well, now several Minnesota officials have noticed-- and have complained to the TSA.

The long lines first developed after the TSA spent $17 million to consolidate 6 previous checkpoints into two big checkpoints. Supposedly, the new configuration was supposed to speed up wait times, yet the opposite has now occurred. And now, several high-profile Minnesota politicians have noticed.

Like Senator Amy Klobuchar, who Tweeted over the weekend she'd met with TSA officials about the now-long wait times...

Meanwhile, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has weighed in on the unacceptable wait times, too, telling CBS-Minnesota that the TSA has "'ruined' the previous efficiency of checkpoints by changing their configuration."

The story went on to say the Governor expressed his frustration in a letter to TSA chairman Peter Neffenger, and said, "he’s 'deeply concerned about the very significant delays and long queues Minnesotans are experiencing.'”

The good news is, a Pioneer Press story said that after Klobuchar met with Neffenger about the problem, "he agreed to add more screeners by the end of the week, and an additional team by the end of the month," according to the story.

In the meantime, though, if you're flying out of the Minneapolis airport, officials recommend getting there two hours ahead of time-- or more if it's an international flight. Or, of course, you can bypass the wait times entirely and fly right out of Rochester International Airport.