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TSA head of security removed from position as airport lines become longer

Kelly Hoggan, head of security for TSA, has been removed from position
Move comes as part of agency's attempt to address airport security lines
Earlier this month, more than 400 passengers missed flights at Chicago O'Hare International Airport due to long security lines
TSA administrator Peter Neffenger promised more than 300 extra TSA officers would be assigned to Chicago's airports by mid-August
Homeland Security secretary, Jeh Johnson said Congress approved request for $34 million to hire more officers to manage long lines

By Valerie Edwards For Dailymail.com and Reuters

Published: 01:43 GMT, 24 May 2016 | Updated: 02:10 GMT, 24 May 2016

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Kelly Hoggan, the head of security for the US Transportation Security Administration, has been removed from his position in an attempt by the agency to address the issue of long airport lines

The head of security for theUS Transportation Security Administration has been removedfrom his position in an attempt by the agency to address the issue of long airport lines.

Kelly Hoggan, the agency's assistant administrator for security operations since 2013, will be replaced by Darby LaJoye, TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told NBC News.

LaJoye, who is currently a deputy assistant TSA administrator, was previously a top security official at Los Angeles International Airport and JFK in New York.

Hoggan was reassigned to new duties, which is a part of a series of moves that Neffenger has taken since hundreds of passengers were stranded in security lines at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport earlier this month.

More than 400 passengers missed their flights in one night thanks to TSA security lines of up to three hours long a little over a week ago at O'Hare, but the issue is a growing crisis at the agency causing travel chaos across the nation.

Dozens of the passengers were forced to sleep on cots at the nation's third-busiest airport, because extremely long security lines kept them from making their flights.

And the lines didn't improve the following day as they wound back and forth through the hallways during the early morning rush when passengers were told to expect waits of as long as three hours for international flights.

The TSA warned travelers to expect delays across the nation earlier this month after they cut their staff numbers.

At O'Hare, the nation's third-busiest airport, some 4,000 passengers have missed flights since February due to an understaffed TSA and record flight sales, according to American Airlines.

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Hoggan was reassigned to new duties, which is a part of a series of moves that TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger has taken since hundreds of passengers were stranded in security lines at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport earlier this month

More than 400 passengers missed their flights in one night thanks to TSA security lines of up to three hours a little over a week ago at O'Hare, but the issue is a growing crisis at the agency causing travel chaos across the nation

The TSA has pledged to add 800 new security screeners by June, but the union that represents these workers says 6,000 new hires need to be made to speed up the screening process.

Neffenger and secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, promised that more than 300 extra TSA officers would be assigned to Chicago's airports by mid-August.

Fifty-eight of them will be assigned within the next three weeks and 100 more part-time workers in Chicago would be promoted to full time, according to NBC.

Johnson said on Friday that Congress had approved his request for $34 million to hire additional officers and pay overtime to manage the long lines.

The House panel, which held a hearing May 12 on long linesat airport security checkpoints, did not give a reason for Hoggan's dismissal as TSA assistant administrator for securityoperations.

Members of the committee criticized the TSA for awardingover $90,000 in bonuses and awards to Hoggan over a 13-monthperiod.

Neffenger said on Monday that a new leadership team has been put in place at O'Hare supported by screening experts from airports across the country, according to NBC.

He said the TSA has also established a National Incident Command Center at the agency's headquarters.

'These adjustments will enable more focused leadership and screening operations at critical airports in the national transportation system,' Neffenger told NBC.

The command center will track daily screening operations and will have the authority to shift officers and other resources as passenger volume dictates.

TSA has pledged to add 800 new security screeners by June, but the union that represents these workers says 6,000 new hires need to be made to speed up the screening process. Neffenger and Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, promised more than 300 extra TSA officers would be assigned to Chicago's airports by mid-August