A Stitch in Haste

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which among other things runs New York's airports, and the Transportation Security Administration are considering allowing a private helicopter company to whisk elite travelers, for $140 one-way, from Wall Street to JFK Airport, with the added perk of having them clear security at the heliport rather than at the airport.

Okay, fine, whatever. Not something I would pay for, but if there's a market for it, then so be it.

Here, however, is the problem:

U.S. Helicopter plans to begin operating in mid-March. ... Its Sikorsky helicopters can carry as many as 12 passengers, and it expects to have three of them initially, ... giving it a capacity of fewer than 500 outbound passengers a day.

By contrast, about 50,000 travelers pass through security screening each day at Kennedy, according to the Port Authority. The security administration plans to spend $560,000 this year to set up and operate the checkpoint at the Wall Street heliport, on Pier 6 in the East River... Creating a checkpoint at the East 34th Street Heliport will cost about the same.

To supply the screeners at the heliports, the administration will have to reduce staffing at airports because Congress has limited their number nationwide to 45,000 since 2002.

Now wait just a minute. Not only would the Transportation Security Administration (i.e., taxpayers and fee payers) foot the $1.1 million bill to set up these new helicopter security checkpoints, but they would also divert employees from the 50,000-passenger JFK checkpoints to staff the (no more than) 500-person heliport checkpoints? All in the name of "revitalizing Downtown Manhattan" through an ultra-vanity shuttle service for a handful of Wall Streeters? (And besides, how does a second heliport at East 34th Street benefit Lower Manhattan, as opposed to benefiting U.S. Helicopter?)

You don't need an MBA or an economics Ph.D. or even a helocopter pilot license to know that this is insane.

If U.S. Helicopter wants to enter the airport shuttle business, then fine, more power to them. "Markets in everything" and all that. But let them foot the bill by paying for their own security checkpoint equipment and by paying the TSA the money to hire additional staff.

Airport security is necessary and proper. Stupid, expensive and wasteful airport security policies are not.