Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Five Transportation Security Administration workers at a southwest Florida airport have been fired and another 38 suspended after an investigation found they failed to perform random screenings last year.

The 43 disciplined workers, a combination of front-line screeners and supervisors, represent about 15 percent of the roughly 280 TSA employees at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.

It's one of the largest disciplinary actions TSA has taken in the agency's 10-year history.

The TSA said that during a two-month period last year, as many as 400 passengers who underwent routine screening at the airport never got additional random checks.

About 3.8 million passengers flew through the airport last year.