Security equipment problems cause delays, missed flights at Hilo International Airport

Security screening equipment that doesn’t work continues to plague travelers at Hilo International Airport.

During the past few days, people have taken to social media to complain about long security lines at the airport that have resulted in delayed or missed flights.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation issued a travel advisory Nov. 9 for Hilo International Airport on social media, telling departing travelers they should arrive 2 hours before their flights because of delays at the security checkpoint.

Several passengers missed flights that morning.

It was unclear why there were delays at the security checkpoint. However, on Tuesday, travelers were once again hit with a long line that extended past the bathrooms.

Lorie Dankers, spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, said Tuesday’s delay was a result of the monitors at the checkpoints not connecting to the X-ray monitor.

Dankers said the temporary wait time was 60 minutes between 8 and 9 a.m. Operations returned to normal levels shortly after and continued normal throughout the day.

David Price, 64, of Pāhoa was among the impacted travelers. With a doctor’s appointment scheduled at 10 a.m. on O‘ahu, Price arrived at the airport 2 hours early knowing there were delays just a couple of days earlier.

Price travels to O‘ahu four or five times a year for doctor appointments. This year, he’s missed an appointment because of the long security lines.

“This is a chronic issue,” he said.

Screening machines malfunctioned on New Year’s Day this year, requiring a technician to be brought out to work on the issue. It took 2 days for parts to arrive to fix the machines.

On Tuesday, it took Price 45 minutes to get through the security line. He said there was one Transportation Security Administration agent checking IDs and another watching the line.

“The pre-checks weren’t going through quickly either,” Price said, adding it would’ve been a waste to pay the extra money.

Despite getting to the airport early and boarding his flight, he was still late for his doctor’s appointment as the pilot waited another 20 minutes before taking off to allow everyone scheduled for the flight to board.

“It put me at odds with my health care provider,” Price said, adding they get frustrated with the missed or late arrivals.

The state Transportation Department didn’t comment Tuesday about what they are doing to work with the Transportation Security Administration to address these equipment malfunctions.

Dankers also didn’t offer more detail into the problems with malfunctioning equipment, how often it happens or what the federal security agency is doing to fix the machines.