"Airports brace for delays as travel rebounds"

Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Airports brace for delays as travel rebounds 
BY AMY SCHATZ, and SCOTT MCCARTNEY
The Wall Street Journal


Many travelers are likely to face maddening waits in airport security
lines this summer, as traffic returns to levels not seen since the
gridlocked summer of 2000. 

Starting in June, airlines expect to ferry about 65 million passengers a
month, a healthy 12 percent jump from last year. While that's good news
for airlines, which are struggling with labor woes and high jet-fuel
prices, it's a potential nightmare for passengers. That's because --
with Congress pushing the over-budget Transportation Security
Administration to cut costs this summer -- there will be at least 5,000
fewer screeners staffing security-checkpoint sites, a 10 percent drop
from last year. 

Worried airline officials have demanded meetings with the Transportation
Security Administration to ask what the government is planning to do to
alleviate the problem, which will undoubtedly result in missed flights
and other frustrations for travelers. 

In some airports, the problems will be particularly acute. At
Washington's Dulles airport, Independence Air (formerly Atlantic Coast
Airlines) launches its discount service June 16, resulting in 300 more
flights a day by summer's end. In Tampa, airport officials have
requested additional screeners to staff new lanes in the two busiest
terminals, to cut down on the 45-minute wait during peak hours,
particularly for flights before 8 a.m. 

Airlines, with the help of the Transportation Security Administration,
recently compiled a private list of airports most at risk for lengthy
summer security-screening delays. In the last week alone, that list has
grown from 15 airports to 25. They include some of the busiest airports
in the country: Atlanta, Las Vegas, Houston, Los Angeles, New
York-Kennedy, and Chicago O'Hare. Last week, officials held emergency
meetings with TSA to discuss the agency's summer planning. 

Already, travelers in some cities are facing longer waits. In Phoenix,
for example, security-checkpoint waits averaged 30 minutes or more, 64
percent of the time during a recent week, according to airline
officials. In Philadelphia, arriving international fliers have been hit
with lengthy security-screening delays, leading to missed connections,
airlines say. 

TSA says it's developing a "summer strategy" and will be ready for the
crowds. TSA officials point out they mostly prevented long lines from
materializing at security checkpoints last year during the holidays. 

The centerpiece of its plan: A national education campaign dubbed
"Ready, Set, Go!" that encourages passengers to be more careful about
what they pack in their bags. Despite all the attention showered on nail
clippers and scissors, a surprising number of people still are trying to
bring weapons on board. For instance, earlier this year in Las Vegas,
gun-show attendees were given goodie bags containing complimentary key
chains with real bullets affixed to them, prompting huge backups in
security lines as passengers didn't realize they were carrying ammo.
Since the beginning of this year, TSA screeners have confiscated 123
guns and more than 5,000 box cutters from passengers. 

TSA also will remind people to take off their belts and remove coins
from their pockets before reaching the metal detectors. Emptying pockets
of coins saves an average of two seconds per passenger. 

Airlines, however, have been pushing for more concrete changes, such as
significant adjustments in staffing and procedures, to help speed things
up. Carriers typically rely heavily on part-time workers to boost
peak-period staffing in everything from ticket counters to baggage
handling, for example. But TSA has taken a more-rigid approach,
maintaining the same staffing in the summer as in slower travel periods.
In addition, some airports have 100 or more vacancies that remain
unfilled, despite available funding. 

TSA has suggested to airlines that it may move screeners from airports
that are functioning smoothly to airports with longer lines. Airlines
oppose that, contending it will just spread problems across the country.
"Airports will be penalized for their success," one airline executive
says. 

Some airports are taking matters into their own hands. At Atlanta's main
security checkpoint, two adjacent newsstands are being torn out this
week to make way for four new security lines. The airport also sends an
average of 42,000 passengers a month real-time e-mail updates on the
wait at security checkpoints near their gates. Seattle's airport is
handing out little plastic baggies so people can empty their pockets of
keys, cellphones and coins before they get to the front of the line. 

Several airports, including Las Vegas, Seattle, Atlanta and
Washington-Dulles, plan to expand the number of security lines this
summer, although none has yet received a firm commitment from TSA that
the agency plans to provide enough screeners to fully staff them. 

Carriers also have questioned the need to rescreen checked luggage
arriving from Europe before putting it on domestic U.S. flights. The TSA
has felt some European screening isn't up to U.S. standards. 

In addition, airlines are pushing for the return of secondary metal
detectors at checkpoints to use on customers who set off the initial
alarm. They also would like to see more X-ray machines: Currently, TSA
requires that X-ray-machine belts stop on each item for study, rather
than run continuously with stops only when an item raises concern.
Airline officials say that processing could be sped up if TSA ran two
X-ray machines for each metal detector, rather than the current single
unit. One airline official says stopping the belt for every item is the
single thing slowing things down the most. 

TSA officials won't discuss any more specifics about how they plan to
speed up the lines, although they say they're considering changes to how
lanes are set up. 

For passengers not willing to leave the fate of their summer vacations
up to the efficiency of TSA, there are a few preventive steps travelers
can take. Avoid flying in the early morning, when many airports,
particularly smaller, nonhub airports, are their busiest. At John Wayne
Airport in Orange County, Calif., passengers are already being advised
to get to the airport more than 2 1/2 hours early during peak hours of 6
a.m. to 10 a.m. 

"I know business travelers who have completely given up at going at 7
a.m. and leave at 11 a.m. or later," says Kevin Mitchell, a
business-travel consultant. Lines are often so long at Terminal C of Mr.
Mitchell's hometown airport, Philadelphia International, he often hoofs
it over to Terminal A or Terminal D to pass through shorter security
lines. He then walks back to Terminal C to catch his US Airways flight.
(Terminal C is so busy because it's used by US Airways, which has a hub
in Philadelphia.) 

That also works in other airports, including Austin-Bergstrom
International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where
passengers can move between Concourse C and D and the North Satellite
area, where United Airlines makes its home. 

Airports at vacation spots usually see peaks and valleys in passenger
traffic. For instance, avoid flying out of Fort Lauderdale on Sunday and
Monday mornings around 10 a.m., when the wait at security lines in
Terminal 4's cramped lobby average 40 minutes to an hour, says airport
spokesman Jim Reynolds. In Miami, cruise-ship passengers flood the
airport's security-screening area several times a week; the rush is
worst on Sundays and Mondays. 

Finally, a word of wisdom to golfers. Take a few minutes to wipe off
golf shoes and clubs before checking them on the plane. Pesticides used
on golf courses have been known to trigger some airport bomb-detection
systems, security officials say. 

Avoiding Delays at Your Airport 

The best way to dodge the logjams at airport security this summer at
selected airports. 

   * Seattle: If flying into concourse B (home to Southwest, Continental
and Delta) try not to schedule a connection in another concourse since
that will require going through another security check. 

   * Atlanta: During peak hours (Monday and Saturday mornings; Thursday
and Friday afternoons; Sunday evening), try smaller T-Gate area
checkpoint, which is sometimes faster. 

   * Philadelphia: Most of its concourses are connected -- so you can
use any checkpoint, not just the one closest to your gate. A big caveat:
Terminals E and F aren't connected, so if a flight leaves from there,
you must use that terminal's checkpoint. 

   * Las Vegas: Avoid flying into town Sundays and Mondays between 6
a.m. and noon. Avoid flying out Thursdays and Fridays between 11 a.m.
and 2 p.m. 

   * Dallas Fort Worth: Terminals A and C, and checkpoints A-35, C-21
and C-30, will have the longest lines this summer, the airport says. To
find the least congested checkpoint, ask the "Terminal Managers" or
"Airport Ambassadors" for advice. 

   * Fort Lauderdale: Security lines are generally busier during meal
hours. Airport parking expected to be tight, too, as locals escape
summer heat. 

   * Washington-Dulles: Security lines expected to get longer in June,
when Independence Air, formerly Atlantic Coast Airlines, begins offering
about 100 daily departures. 

   * Orlando: Two security checkpoints experience three peak periods:
Business travelers arrive between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. The next two waves
include more families and occur from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4
p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 

   * Detroit: Try to use the Edward H. McNamara Terminal, built in 2002,
which has 40 percent more screening capacity than the terminal it
replaced. The airport says its busiest times are late afternoons. 

   * Indianapolis: Avoid flights out of concourse B and C in the
morning. By July, airport hopes to permanently move United Airlines from
concourse C to concourse D to help balance security lines. 

   * Orange County, Calif.: John Wayne airport is busiest between 5 a.m.
and 10 a.m. on weekdays. Since there are only two security checkpoints,
try avoiding a jammed line by walking about five minutes to the other
terminal. The airport will increase its security capacity by 33 percent
in June. 

Summer Airport Bottlenecks 

Airlines and federal security officials have identified 25 airports most
at risk for lengthy security-screening delays this summer. 

Atlanta 
Boston 
Cleveland 
Charlotte, N.C. 
Cincinnati 
Denver 
Dallas-Fort Worth 
Detroit 
Newark, N.J. 
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 
Honolulu 
Washington-Dulles 
Houston-Bush Intercontinental 
Indianapolis 
New York-Kennedy 
Las Vegas 
Los Angeles 
Orlando 
Miami 
Milwaukee 
Chicago-O Hare 
Philadelphia 
Phoenix 
Seattle 
Orange County, Calif. 

Source: the airlines 


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