"Midway Airport struggles with frequent delays, design limitations"

Tuesday, August 5, 2003

Midway Airport struggles with frequent delays, design limitations
WLS-TV Ch 7 ABC, Chicago (IL)


Located just 10 miles from the city's Loop, Midway Airport was once a small
gem of an airport where travelers went to escape the long lines and parking
hassles of O'Hare. 

But security procedures put in place after the terrorist attacks of Sept.
11, 2001, an increase in passengers and a bottleneck-inducing pedestrian
bridge leading to the screeners have resulted in chronic delays at security
checkpoints. 

The problems are infuriating travelers and worrying executives of the two
largest carriers at Midway -- Southwest Airlines and American Trans Air. 

Speaking a day after travelers waited up to an hour in a line leading to the
airport's 10 security lanes and four airlines were forced to hold flights,
Mayor Richard Daley said federal officials need to hire more screeners. 

"You beef up your staff," he said at a news conference Tuesday. "At certain
hours you do that." 

But other than an 11th security lane being added this weekend, there is no
space for more screeners, according to the Transportation Security
Administration, which is in charge of airport security. 

"We have to take into consideration the design considerations at Midway. It
is pretty much maxed out," said Chris Rhatigan, the TSA's Midwest regional
spokeswoman. "The security checkpoint is as wide as it can get." 

Travelers at Midway get their tickets in one building, then walk a
pedestrian bridge over busy Cicero Avenue to get to the security checkpoints
-- and the gates beyond. 

Rhatigan said the TSA has begun using what was once a security lane reserved
for airline and airport employees for passengers when it is available. And
the city plans to remove moving walkways in order to create one large
zigzagging line, instead of multiple lanes, she said. 

Daley said a long-term solution of adding two more pedestrian bridges is at
least two years away; who will pay for the $40 million project is
unresolved. 

While many airlines are cutting back in the tough economy, low-cost carriers
such as Southwest and ATA have added flights at Midway, which has
experienced an 11 percent increase in passengers this year. 

Last month, Southwest and ATA executives told federal and city officials
that long lines at security checkpoints were hurting their operations. 

Christine Turneabe-Connelly, a spokeswoman for Southwest, said the airline
was pleased with the response it received and feels that city and federal
officials are "showing the initiative and energy to fix the problem." 

A spokeswoman for ATA did not return a call for comment, but the airline
announced Tuesday it is adding three roundtrip flights a day from Midway. 

About 25,000 people pass each day through security checkpoints at Midway,
Rhatigan said. It ranked 30th for on-time departures among 31 large hub
airport during the first five months of this year, according to the U.S.
Department of Transportation. 

Midway is in the midst of an $800 million overhaul that was planned before
the terrorist attacks. It will add 12 aircraft gates to the current 31. 

"When the terminal was designed, we didn't have the screening requirements
that we have now. That was all based on architecture prior to 9-11," said
Carl Mattson, a Denver-based pilot for ATA who flies through Midway almost
daily. 

The benefit to Midway is its small size and that it is reachable by train,
Mattson said. 

"You can walk from the train and in 15 minutes be out at the farthest gate,"
he said, before adding, "If there was no one in the security checkpoints." 

By Tuesday, Midway had returned to normal and security lines moved quickly.
But James and Kathleen Watson, of Crete, showed up three hours early for
their flight to Las Vegas Tuesday -- just in case. 

"We're braced for it," she said.


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