Mass. Senator Calls on Airlines to Jetison Checked Bag Fees

TSA lines would be shorter and move faster -- if only airlines stopped charging passengers extra to check bags.

That's the reasoning behind Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey's call on airlines to give checked-bag fees the boot this summer.

"In the wake of reports of staggeringly-long lines expected this summer at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening checkpoints in airports across the country... we call on airlines to take a smart, common sense step to help thwart this growing problem: stop charging checked bag fees during the coming summer months, the busiest travel season of the year. Without charges for checking their bags, passengers will be far less likely to carry them on, which snarls screening checkpoints and slows the inspection process," Markey wrote in a joint letter with fellow Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut.

It's the latest crusade from Markey, a senator notable for taking aim at aviation industry practices.

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Markey sent a letter to executives at a dozen U.S. airlines last week (quoted above), and on Friday joined with Massport CEO Thomas Glynn and John Breyault, of the National Consumers League, to push the message.

On Friday, Markey also called for increased funding to the Transportation Security Administration, to help manage expected long waits.

>> Image by U.S. Federal Government (Transportation Security Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons