New Screening Area at Richmond International Airport

February 25, 2004

New Screening Area at Airport
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA


By this spring, Richmond International Airport plans
to begin building screening areas designed to help
passengers feel better about getting searched.

"It's a much more generous and attractive space for an
enhanced passenger experience," said Michael Patrick,
design architect for the Atlanta firm of Leo A. Daly,
which is planning the airport's $7 million expansion.

Yesterday, the Capital Region Airport Commission
viewed plans for raising the number of screening lanes
and adding other features to the revamped second
floor.

President and CEO Jon Mathiasen said the airport's
goal is "to create a security portal" for each
concourse - adding space, light and information for
passengers getting ready to board flights.

  
For the past two years, the airport has used
often-cramped space to meet tougher federal screening
requirements required after 9/11.

Mathiasen said the airport will add about 15,000
square feet of space in the new screening lanes.

The project - which includes AIRPORT more private
screening areas for passengers under inspection - will
cover more than 30,000 square feet of the terminal's
second floor, roughly doubling the size.

Architect Patrick said planners are paying "careful
attention to the finishes and details" of the new
checkpoints.

He plans to use modern materials, such as glass and
metal, known for creating a more secure feeling.

The checkpoints will also be "clearly protected from
the rest of the concourse," and will have brighter
lights, Patrick said.

The expanded area will allow the airport to operate up
to four lanes per concourse - double the current
number.

Mathiasen said he has had preliminary talks with the
federal Transportation Security Administration about
using Richmond as a testing ground for new training
and equipment.

The construction project is expected to go out to bid
in April and take nine months to complete.

The building plans sparked a discussion of the
occasional lines that occur at the airport.

Commissioner Robert Norfleet said he recently
encountered a five- to 10-minute backup before
catching an early-morning flight.

"It was kind of thin," he said of the TSA's staffing.

Thomas W. Davis Jr., who heads the TSA operation here,
said he is hiring more than 30 part-time screeners.

"We hope to have all lanes staffed at peak periods,"
he said.

In another matter, the commission unanimously approved
increasing the surcharge on passenger tickets. The
$1.50 increase brings the "passenger facility charge"
to $4.50 per ticket.

Officials said the increase in the surcharge was
needed to raise about $1.2 million to help strengthen
the airport's finances and satisfy the bond market.

The measure requires approval by the Federal Aviation
Administration and will not take effect for at least
six months.

Airport spokesman Troy Bell, asked later whether
passengers might balk at higher ticket prices, replied
that "the modest increase" will help finance a new
terminal complex.

He predicted it "will be generally supported by
airport customers."

Bell said that a $4.50 surcharge "is most common at
airports that are going forward with capital
improvement programs, like Richmond."


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