How to Text With a Real Person on the TSA to Answer Your Travel Questions | Lifehacker
On the heels of “the busiest summer travel period on record,” the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is gearing up for record-breaking numbers this vacation season. According to TSA Administrator David Pekoske, seven of the “top 10 busiest travel days in TSA’s history” have been in 2023, together with a number of days when greater than 2.8 million passengers had been screened in airports throughout the nation.
In the identical information launch, Pekoske made the same old claims in regards to the TSA anticipating a excessive quantity of vacationers in the course of the holidays and being prepared for the elevated airport site visitors. And whereas most elements of air journey are past our management, you are able to do your self a favor by saving the TSA’s textual content message line for real-time solutions to any journey or safety questions that come up.
How to textual content inquiries to the TSA
You can textual content inquiries to the TSA, which guarantees “assistance in real time.” Technically, there are 3 ways of getting in contact:
Texting inquiries to #275-872 (AskTSA)
Sending inquiries to @AskTSA on X (previously referred to as Twitter) by way of direct message
Sending questions by Facebook Messenger
We tried texting the TSA to see what you’ll be able to anticipate, and it begins with an automatic digital assistant asking you to kind in numbers in response to a menu of choices. The automated choices can provide solutions to fundamental questions, however except you want fairly easy info—like fundamental ID guidelines or what’s allowed by safety—the robotic will not be a lot assist. When we requested if vacationers nonetheless have to put liquids in a resealable bag, we needed to ship seven textual content responses to get a solution.
Credit: Lifehacker
Credit: Lifehacker
Credit: Lifehacker
When we requested a follow-up query, the automated system began us over from the start and requested the identical menu of questions. It appears every ticket is closed after a solution is given (whether or not their reply helped or not), and it’s a must to begin over from the start if you wish to make a brand new question. This time, although, as a substitute of going by the automated system with a digital assistant, we pressed “6” to textual content with an actual particular person. We had been curious to see simply how briskly you’ll be able to communicate with an actual human.
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Actual TSA employees members are supposed to be obtainable to reply questions from 8 a.m. to six p.m. ET seven days every week, together with holidays. It took them an inexpensive 5 minutes to reply our query.
Each new query will begin over from the start of the TSA’s automated textual content menu, however you’ll be able to press “6” to textual content with an individual throughout these common enterprise hours of 8 a.m. to six p.m. ET. When we requested our subsequent follow-up query, an actual particular person responded in 4 minutes this time.
Credit: Lifehacker
Credit: Lifehacker
Of course, you may as well name the TSA Contact Center if you happen to favor—their quantity is (866) 289-9673. You can communicate with a human employees member from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to eight p.m. on weekends and holidays. An automated service solutions calls throughout off-hours.
