"Congressman blasts 'horrible' Midway checkpoints"

Saturday, July 19, 2003

Lipinski blasts 'horrible' checkpoints
By Guy Tridgell
The Daily Southtown, Chicago (IL)


William Lipinski has seen what federal security has done to Midway Airport,
and he doesn't like it.

Lipinski scolded the Transportation Security Administration during a meeting
Thursday because poor staffing levels and bad planning have created
checkpoint lines with waits longer than an hour. The congressman, who lives
blocks from Midway and has a major say in national aviation matters, has
chided TSA in the past for manning a "chokepoint" rather than a checkpoint.

"It has been horrible," Lipinski aide Michael McLaughlin said.

After meeting with Lipinski, TSA responded by promising to add two
checkpoint lanes — increasing the total to 12. The agency also agreed to
work with the Chicago Department of Aviation to build a second pedestrian
walkway over Cicero Avenue to accommodate the increasing passenger volumes
at the country's fastest-growing airport.

"If the Department of Aviation looks at it and wants to add more capacity,
we will secure it," TSA spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan said. "We have only a
certain amount of space at the airport."

Until more room is added, Rhatigan is not confident the checkpoint wait will
improve much.

"If I was a passenger at Midway, I would bring a lot of patience with me,"
she said.

Chicago airports spokeswoman Monique Bond said discussions about adding a
new walkway are ongoing. No price has been attached to the project.

But Bond blamed the long lines on not enough screeners working the
checkpoints.

The problem, she said, has contributed to Midway consistently getting the
worst marks of any airport in the country for departure times.

"It is a matter of hiring adequate staff," Bond said. "You have to match the
resources with the peak times. I'm not sure that is happening."

McLaughlin said Chicago aviation officials have been pleading with the TSA
to fix the problems so checkpoint waits meet the 10-minute federal goal.
Their requests have gone unheeded, he said.

Joining Lipinski at the meeting this week with TSA chief operating officer
John Shkor was Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

"We didn't think much was getting done at the local level and TSA was not
being responsive," McLaughlin said.

Shkor, McLaughlin said, accepted an invitation to visit Midway next month
and witness his workers on the job.

Rhatigan said Midway presents a challenge to TSA because the primary
carrier, Southwest Airlines, continues to thrive in a crippled industry. She
said the airline also tends to draw more vacationers who pack prohibited
items, causing lines to build while the items are removed at the checkpoint.

"The good news is you have a lot of people traveling through Midway. People
want to travel," she said.

 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dc/dcboard.php

*****************************************