TSA spokesman David Castelveter told CNN in a written statement Saturday that the Transportation Security Administration started the process of firing 25 of its agents and suspending 19 others for not following screening procedures.
The 44 employees all worked in a checked-baggage screening room in Terminal B of Newark’s Liberty International Airport. In November and December of 2011, they were caught on surveillance cameras not following proper screening protocols, an agency internal investigation revealed.
After passengers check their bags, TSA screeners are supposed to search the luggage with electronic scanners and open some bags by hand.
In this case, all bags did receive some screening, but the employees allegedly didn’t follow procedures on about 250 bags during the two months.
The punishment marks the largest removal and suspension of TSA officers in the agency’s history, and part of a larger internal crackdown on improper behavior by TSA agents.