(Bloomberg) -- U.S. airlines and airports are spendingmillions on added workers to avoid a repeat of long security lines,as the coming Memorial Day weekend kicks off what’s expected to bea record year for summer travel.

“We are concerned for this weekend, where we’ll see higher thannormal flight loads,” said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for AmericanAirlines Group Inc. “That will just continue into June and prettymuch all the way to September.”

American, Delta and United airlines will spend as much as $4million each for extra workers at their busiest airports to helpmanage lines and shuffle bins at checkpoints — freeing upTransportation SecurityAdministration officers to focus on screening. Carriers andairports also are diverting some of their ownemployees to take the load off TSA staff.

The efforts follow waits of as much as three hours in securitylines starting last month that caused thousands of travelers tomiss flights and led to hearings in Congress this week on theagency’s woes. Summer air travel is forecast to climb 4% this yearto a record 231.1 million passengers, according to the Airlines forAmerica trade group.

U.S. travelers are being lured to the skies by relatively lowair fares. In addition, inexpensive gasoline makes driving moreattractive. AAA, the auto club, predicts that more than 38 millionAmericans will travel by air and road this weekend, which would bethe second-highest volume on record and the most since 2005.

Lost spending

Yet 22% of 2,500 people surveyed said long airport lines wouldprompt them to avoid air travel or delay their trips, according toresearch conducted last week by the U.S. Travel Association. The lost travel spendingwould total $4.3 billion from June through August, the industrygroup said.

The TSA advises passengers to arrive two hours early fordomestic flights and three hours in advance for internationaltravel, and the busiest airports are the most vulnerable to delays.Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Los AngelesInternational, Chicago’s O’Hare International, Dallas-Fort WorthInternational and New York’s John F. Kennedy International are thefive busiest U.S. airports, according to Airlines for America.

American, Delta Air Lines Inc. and United ContinentalHoldings Inc. each are spending about $4 million at their busiesthubs to assist TSA agents, in part by hiring contract workers.JetBlue Airways Corp. also is hiring third-party staff, whileSouthwest Airlines Co. and other carriers are assigning some oftheir own employees to help expedite security lines.

‘All hands’

“At this point it’s all hands on deck, and we’re thinking abouteverything we can do to help our customers make their flights ontime,” Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly told reporterslast week.

Airlines may hold flights to allow passengers time to clearsecurity and prioritize travelers in lines according to scheduleddeparture times.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is spending $3.3 million tohire 90 contract workers to help manage security lines throughSeptember. Charlotte Douglas International Airport hascontracted for more than 30 workers who will check carry-onbag sizes and boarding passes and direct travelers to shorterlines. The $1 million annual cost is being paid by carriers,according to an airport spokeswoman.

Getting through

Other airports are making similar arrangements, Kevin Burke,president of the Airports Council International-North America tradegroup, told reporters on Monday.

“It’s voluntary and it’s temporary,” he said. “It’s really notthe role of airport workers to do the TSA’s job. We need to getthrough this.”

Security lapses by the agency last year sparked criticism fromlawmakers and the TSA’s Inspector General. That prompted the agencyto allow fewer people into streamlined security lanes and to searchall passengers more carefully. Such moves and declining numbers ofscreeners combined to make lines longer.

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On Monday, the TSA ousted its security chief, and a push isunder way to persuade Congress to increase funding to hire 5,400agents that the agency has said are needed to reach full staffing.TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger is appearing before a Housecommittee on Wednesday to address ways to shorten lines.

“TSA officers are doing a great job, there just aren’t enough ofthem,” said Christopher Bidwell, vice president for security at theairports council. “That’s the bottom line.”

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