Reno airport TSA gets most claims in U.S.

From damaged belongings to missing money, Reno-Tahoe International Airport leads the nation in travelers filing claims with and getting paid by the federal Transportation Security Administration.

An analysis of data from 2010-14 by USA TODAY Media Network on the 100 biggest U.S. airports ranks Reno-Tahoe International highest based on the number of claims filed and claims paid per 1 million passengers. Claims ranged from missing or damaged electronics to clothing to cash to sports equipment.

Why Reno — with its estimated 8.8 million passenger count a fraction of many other airports' — is No. 1 remains largely unanswered.

Created after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and charged with operating luggage screening and security checkpoints at U.S. airports, the TSA is reticent to provide details on its specific operations.

But the agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, told USA TODAY it has ramped up efforts in recent years to train its staff and better monitor their activity with undercover operations.

Additionally, of the 2.5 million pieces of baggage screened daily nationwide, "less than one-half of 1 percent result in a lost or damaged baggage claim" and "very few are found to be the result of misconduct," the TSA said in a statement to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

But to the question of staffing and other factors at the local level, including Reno-Tahoe International, the TSA, which operates independent of local airport oversight, is largely tight-lipped.

"We don't disclose staffing levels for security reasons. They depend on the situation and the threat," TSA spokesman Bruce Anderson told USA TODAY.

That's not good enough, said Reno-Tahoe Airport CEO Marily Mora.

"The TSA tends to look at this from a national perspective. The TSA told us they don't see anything alarming about the numbers here in Reno," she said. "I'm not satisfied."

She said the TSA employed a customer service person at Reno until a year ago when the agency consolidated the position with its operations at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

"He was very proactive in getting (travelers) to file a complaint. A good amount of customer service was being handled here. That function is now in Las Vegas," she said.

Mora said the TSA claims data are not mechanical-related at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, where tens of millions of dollars in improvements in the past decade included a new in-line baggage check-in system and a consolidated and enlarged passenger checkpoint area.

"It's not about equipment. They've (TSA) given us reassurances there," Mora said.

Even so, given Reno's rankings in the report, "They (TSA) might not be alarmed, but we are. At the end of the day, there was someone using this airport who was impacted."

A rec-related influence?

Over the five-year period at Reno-Tahoe International, 256 claims were filed with the TSA by outbound passengers, figures show. Of those, 120 were paid by the TSA, the highest rate per-capita nationwide, according to USA TODAY's calculations using TSA data. Most — about 81 percent — involved damaged or lost possessions in checked baggage.

At Reno and elsewhere, TSA officials, working out of sight of travelers but with cameras watching, scan all checked bags and, if they see fit, can open any they believe need further inspection. A form is then left inside the bag informing the owner that it was opened and providing an online address for filing a claim.

"They pull out items and when they put them back, most likely they don't pack it as safely as the traveler has," Mora said.

The USA TODAY report's itemized list for Reno shows claims on checked baggage ranged from as low as $3 approved in full for "travel accessories" to $2,974 "settled" in a 2010 claim for damaged "sporting equipment and supplies."

One security checkpoint claim filed in 2012 for $500 in lost currency was approved in full.

The $2,974 claim involved the TSA unpacking a bike that had been put through checked baggage, Mora said, adding, "They did not put the bike back in its packing very well."

Interestingly, among the top dozen airports for TSA paid claims, Reno-Tahoe International was bigger in total passengers than just two others, Omaha, Neb., and Washington Dulles.

Directly behind Reno's paid claims rate of 13.6 per 1 million passengers were Palm Springs, Calif., International Airport at 12.3 claims and Santa Barbara, Calif., at 11.7 claims.

That struck Mora's eye in theorizing why.

"We have some commonality with Palm Springs as a recreational destination," she said. "A lot of sporting equipment comes through here. We have more oversized baggage statistically than other airports. People are carrying more stuff."

The USA TODAY report showed at least seven claims at Reno-Tahoe International for "sporting equipment and supplies."

Mora said TSA officials did not disclose to her specific figures on hand-searched bags at Reno's airport.

But, she said, "We believe the range is about 10-12 percent of total checked bags here get hand searched by the TSA. While we do not have the statistic overall for TSA, we believe that there is a higher percentage of hand searches in Reno due to the types of sports equipment, etc., that come through the checked baggage system."

Wanted: more answers

Mora said she meets periodically with TSA officials at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and the issue of claims has never arisen.

"I'm very surprised at the numbers," she said of USA TODAY's findings. "We've not received any complaints from the public."

She said Reno's security checkpoint and baggage inspection areas are "heavily populated with cameras," and the airport's periodic customer service surveys show "strong satisfaction" with the TSA.

Still, she said of the USA TODAY report's Reno data, "I'm not satisfied. We've asked questions and I'm not satisfied we have enough information. They simply work at this from a national perspective. But I want more answers. The airport and traveling public deserve it."

"We are a community that relies heavily on a good customer experience at the airport," she said. "What we'll do is work with the TSA to get answers why there's a high rate of claims per client here. Whatever the case may be, we're going to be working very closely with them for more information."

The TSA is a federally funded agency and the report's findings on Reno will be reviewed by Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said his spokesman, Neal Patel.

"The TSA has an important responsibility to ensure the safety of all passengers before they step on their plane," Patel said in a statement to the Reno Gazette-Journal. "However, this does not got give the TSA the right to disregard or damage passengers' property. Sen. Heller knows the TSA needs to reform the way it does business, and that must start in Reno."

BY THE NUMBERS

TSA claims at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, 2010-14:

2010: 71

2011: 54

2012: 44

2013: 55

2014: 32

Total: 256

Unresolved: 32

Approved: 99

Denied: 104

Settled: 21

Total paid: 120

Total dollars paid: $20,998

Top 10 airports with most paid claims per 1 million passengers among 100 biggest U.S. airports with TSA security:

Reno-Tahoe International: 13.6

Palm Springs, Calif.: 12.3

Santa Barbara, Calif.: 11.7

Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.: 11.7

Allentown, Pa.: 10.8

Eugene, Ore.: 9.1

Omaha, Neb.: 8.3

Spokane, Wash.: 8.3

Fairbanks, Alaska: 7.9

Washington Dulles: 7.6

Others:

Phoenix: 5.5

Salt Lake City: 5.1

San Jose: 5.0

Sacramento: 4.9

Boise: 3.6

Las Vegas: 2.7

Biggest claims in Reno:

$2,974: In 2010, checked baggage, property damage, sporting equipment/supplies. Settled.

$1,964: In 2010, checked baggage, property damage, tools/home improvement supplies. Approved in full.

$1,328: In 2011, security checkpoint, personal injury. Settled.

$1,088: In 2012, security checkpoint, property damage, computer/accessories. Settled.

$873: In 2014, checked baggage. property loss. Approved in full.

$719: In 2014, checked baggage, property damage, computer/accessories. Settled.

$560: In 2011, checked baggage, property damage, personal accessories. Approved in full.

$502: In 2014, checked baggage, property loss, clothing. Settled.

$500: In 2012, security checkpoint, property loss, currency. Approved in full.

$500: In 2010, checked baggage, property loss, sporting equipment/supplies. Approved in full.

Smallest claims in Reno:

$3: In 2014, checked baggage, property loss, travel accessories. Approved in full.

$4: In 2013, checked baggage, property loss. Approved in full.

$8: In 2013, checked baggage, property loss, travel accessories. Approved in full.

$9: In 2014, checked baggage, property loss, travel accessories. Approved in full.

$10: In 2012, checked baggage, property loss, cosmetics/grooming. Approved in full.

Source: USA TODAY Media Network

HOW TO FILE A CLAIM

ONLINE: Travelers who want to file a claim with the Transportation Security Administration must complete a specific form. It is available at: http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/claim-forms.

OTHER: Claims can be submitted by fax or by email. They could also be mailed. If a passenger doesn't have access to the Internet, a TSA officer at the security checkpoint can direct them to a resource where a hard copy of a claim form could be obtained.