TSA Checkpoint T-4 A – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Rude TSA agent at the checkpoint where they check ID and boarding passes. No one was at the checkpoint and the TSA agent was sitting alone at his stand. He made my wife go back to the sign that said «Wait for next available agent» and told here to wait until he told her to walk up to him. He then went on to lecture her about following directions. It was completely unnecessary, rude and condescending. I’ve been a supporter of the TSA until this point. Now I understand why people complain about their demeanor and Congress is critical of their performance.

Wow! So the folks who run TSA think the best think to do is shut down TSAPre because they do not have enough staff. Tell me what the hell about that makes sense. Hey let’s shut down the line that moves people through the fastest. I would honestly rather take my chances with the old system. TSA is incompetent and has no idea what they are doing.

One of the worst run TSA checkpoints I’ve ever seen, and I’ve flown out of a ton of airports, and ones much smaller than PHX.
I was flying out of B, but the B gates security were closed. Nevermind that I had just walked down there from a restaurant in the middle.
I arrived to the A gates to a total nightmare scenario. TSA Precheck was closed, as they like to do here. I was lucky enough to be in first class for my flight, so I used that lane. There were a bunch of people in that line, so I asked if I was in the right place. The girl in front of me said a TSA agent just came through and ambiguously said this lane or the next one was for Precheck. What followed was a free-​for-​all with people using the disabled/​employee lane and the first class lane.
I called for a TSA agent to come over and explain which line was which, but they just looked me in the eye and listened to my explanation of how everyone was confused and nobody knew which line was with. Nobody from TSA was willing to come over and take control of the situation. They were just letting everyone in in whatever order they fought their way to the front.
I ended up getting yelled at and threatened by another passenger who mistook me as the enemy. I was just trying to get TSA to, you know, do their job. I’m the good guy here, sticking up for the 90% of the line that was getting cut by more aggressive passengers.
Anyway, 15 minutes later I made it through security. Chatted with a supervisor who more or less admitted it was a terribly run checkpoint. Apparently this is normal in PHX, as an airport employee ensured me I was right, and the lounge agents shared their experiences with this TSA checkpoint.
It’s really too bad this review will make absolutely no difference, just as me talking to a supervisor or filing a formal TSA complaint will. TSA will continue to do their absolute minimum to complete their job tasks without any pride for their work.

I was at Phoenix Sky harbor airport. Took 45 min to check in, another 45 min to wait in line for X-​ray. After X-​ray, this a hole took my kids 1 foot long plastic hockey sticks that I bought for them. He said they were dangerous. We were at a game in Phoenix New Years Eve, so much fun, until TSA… See you on the news TSA, I’m not letting this go!

The TSA employees in this section are lazy and unfriendly. On the day before thanksgiving, one of the busiest traveling days of the year, the employees did not perform their duties properly or effectively. The line for TSA pre-​check was closed even though it took over 30 mins to effectively move through the regular lines. The employees behaved lazily while also being unfriendly and choosing to hold conversations rather than conduct their paid duties. They held up many passengers because of their own arrogance rather than any creditable intelligence. I missed my my flight because of the mismanagement of this organization. No matter what time frame, I suggest not to rely on anything the TSA propaganda states

With all the negative reviews I had to share my positive one. First off, from all the airports I’ve visited in the country this airport has the friendliest TSA agents BY FAR.
I had to have my carry on inspected further and I somehow during the process misplaced my cell phone (which housed my ID, credit cards and boarding pass in the phone case). The TSA agent did everything they could do to find my phone. They called it, they reran all my bags, and they started to look through every single bin.
They finally found my phone, and they were so friendly though the whole ordeal. Thank you PHX TSA for the added touch of personal service. Thank you!

Dear Phoenix Sky Harbor TSA,
What a day.
Unlike a lot of folks I encountered today, I’m a reasonable, calm lady.
I’m not prone to lashing out or threatening harm upon a poor Southwest Customer Service Agent because God forbid the weather couldn’t get me to my destination on time.
Not being able to leave for Denver (I was scheduled to leave on SWA#1295, but cancelled at my client’s request after several delays and him being unable to get on the road) because of the blizzard wasn’t your fault.
But I wanted to personally thank you for chipping a large part of the front of my night guard used for TMJ today (¹¹⁄₁₇).
I rely on it to keep severe TMJ headaches and jaw pain at bay.
One time my TMJ got so bad, it damn near completely locked my jaw and had to be prescribed heavy duty muscle relaxants just so 1) It could open and 2) So my dentist could see the damage.
This was a $ 300 dental appliance I’ve had for two years and had to pay 100% out of pocket because my insurance doesn’t cover it.
In the future: When inspecting dental appliances in a passenger’s bag, please handle with care. Night guards, retainers, etc. are NOT cheap to replace and aren’t always covered by insurance.
Seriously, break our make-​up compacts all day. Just not the night guards!
Let’s hope my dentist can help me with this.
Signed,
Nighttime Jaw Clencher Lady who’s about to be in a LOT of pain. :’(

They are the rudest undertrained idiots I have ever had a experience with ever. If this state is based on tourism they have a sad future. I will never come back.

User be ware, they change the rules and do what they want. They couldn’t follow their own rule book let along be capable of reading it. And for us PreCheck paying fools, they close the D gates early as well then won’t recognize your PreCheck status unless you have a printed boarding pass so they say. As far as I’m concerned they are just another waste of tax payer/​the flying publics money. The funny thing is when I fly out of McCarron their PreCheck line is always open and I can get from car to gate in less than 15 minutes, Phoenix employees need to go and learn from a real busy airport how it works and how to treat PreChecked Americans!

They are severely understaffed. Got to the airport 2 hrs early and waited an hour to get through. People were nice but it was ridiculous to wait that long. This system needs to be corrected.

They are mean, rude, and DO NOT COMMUNICATE WELL. They all need to be retrained or get another job. Everyone is not wired to work with the public. It’s clear Phoenix hired a bunch of TSA employees with no customer skills. That was my experience before noon on Monday, 10÷26÷15. I can only imagine how bad it gets throughout the day.

I’m so frustrated with TSA Checkpoint at Sky Harbor. Terminal 4-​A checkpoint is a huge checkpoint which, on Sunday, is pretty much at max capacity all day. Business travelers like me travel out on Sunday and back on Thursday or Friday and depend on TSA Precheck to get me through security quickly.
You offer PreCheck services and take payments at your airport. Then you have PreCheck locations at your security screening areas, but you decide to CLOSE them around 5pm for who knows what reason! Why would you deny that service, THAT WE PAY FOR, on a busy commuter travel day?! The past 2 weeks when I’ve approached T4-​A I’ve seen no less than 200 people queued up in the regular line and at least HALF of those people when asked have TSA Pre on their boarding pass. Are you trying to save some money by not staffing that location? Well I’d didn’t get a discount when I paid into this service.
Do everyone a favor. Staff this checkpoint just like you do T4-​B and help out the people to weekly keep this airport’s lights on and everyone employed. We don’t have a choice of another airport to fly American out of. You’ve got us by the b*lls. Please do the right thing and allow us to use the services we paid for.

I really appreciate TSA for stealing my personal items out of my checked bags and then leaving a note inside telling me that my bag was searched. Probably the dumbest criminals ever. I hope you enjoy my Bose speaker. At least you stole the charger too, so that proves you’re not totally retarded.
«Protecting you and your fellow passengers» –TSA

So, I have PreCheck, and I have an artificial hip. I actually, stupidly, thought that PreCheck would actually get through TSA faster. Nope. So in Phoenix, the PreCheck line has the metal detector, which means I have to wait to be wanded. So I normally tell them about my hip in the PreCheck line, so they send me over to another line with the body scanners, and my carry-​on stays in the first line, but of course in those other lines you have to take off your shoes, coat, etc. So I have to constantly tell them I’m PreCheck even if everyone else in line isn’t, and of course they look at me like I’m an idiot. Why are you in this line if your PreCheck?
I guess nobody at TSA ever realized that MAYBE someone with PreCheck may actually have an artificial joint. I guess nobody ever figured that out.
Maybe TSA needs to all get together at a meeting, and figure out an organized way to handle EVERY type of passenger they might have. Then make sure EVERY TSA person knows this procedure.

Biggest waste of money ever! The TSA Pre-​check line is officially the first time traveler, stroller. Wheelchair, family, and employee lane! So frustrating to pay for a service and it is overtaken by I experienced travelers. Thanks for nothing TSA !!

Really disappointed, I know there are security procedures for a reason but when someone is wrong they should not be defensive and just admit to error.
Coming in from Mexico I purchased 2 bottles of 3.4 ounces of vanilla not knowing I would be going thru TSA security again for my connecting flight home. I was told this was over the 3 oz limit and not able to go thru in my carry on. In my husbands bag there was an 8oz bottle of sunscreen, that passed security just fine. When I questioned why his 8 oz bottle went thru just fine but my 3.4 was not both the TSA officer and the supervisor told me it was up to the agents discretion of what can pass and what can’t. So then what’s the point of having all these rules and regulations if it comes down to whomever lets whatever pass. An 8oz bottle of sunscreen vs 3.4 bottle of Mexican vanilla. Really !!! It feels like all this security is just a power struggle between officers and passengers instead of actually having a purpose of safety.
BTW .when I asked the original TSA agent about the option to check my bag she said it was a cost of $ 25, when the supervisor was talking to me he said a lot of times the airlines don’t charge because they need the cabin space, however because I had already given up my item I could no longer get it back. so ya thanks for trying to make your wrong a right… but not really

Oh the TSA Checkpoint… I often wonder how one ends up with this job; possibly some type of DMV referral process? Pretty much a thankless job, and one that does not have a lot of great customer interactions.
This one does get an ‘A-​OK’ rating from me this time. Traveling out of Phoenix to go back home. The line was short, and the TSA Agents were actually friendly and a little chatty with us. Maybe we caught them on an off day. Either way this was a quick and painless process.

Got through with a double bladed immersion blender, 16oz of unidentified hair paste, an aresol can and a pair of scissors. Agent was rude and miserable not to mention poorly educated. Girlfriend traveling with me had a 2.5oz jar of wildflower honey removed from her. Thank Christ… I now know the plane won’t be hijacked by any honey jars.

Friendly TSA staff was very helpful getting us through the line quickly and with the least amount of inconvenience. We got through the line in less than five minutes. Doesn’t get much better unless you fly first class.

Through the checkpoint, we had forgotten that our laptop needed to be out of the luggage, so one of the lady officers asked us to open it. My husband politely asked if he could help open the luggage to expedite the process. She then rudely said no, and slightly rolled her eyes. As soon as she got it out, she walked over to place our stuffs back on the conveyor. But instead of being careful, she slammed it down.
When she was done, she approached the other officers and chatted away. I was trying to get her name from her tag, but was avoiding me seeing it. She then said something like «I don’t care» to the people with them.
Be warned: some TSA officers are just unfriendly.