"Longer waits in store at DIA"

Thursday, May 6, 2004

Longer waits in store at DIA
Airport braces for drop in screeners, increase in traffic
By Owen S. Good
The Denver (CO) Rocky Mountain News


A rebound in airline passenger traffic, a drop in the screening workforce
and the onset of summer travel season have officials at Denver International
Airport maneuvering to keep security lines from getting out of hand.

Representatives of DIA, the local Transportation Security Administration and
United Airlines have met over the past two days and expect to have a plan
for dealing with a traffic surge before Memorial Day, which traditionally
opens the vacation season.

While TSA spokesman Mike Fierberg could not estimate what kind of delays
might be seen, passengers will inevitably be told to expect them.

"All you have to do is look at the numbers that DIA has posted the last
three months - traffic is up," Fierberg said. "There's no reason to believe
this summer will not also be a busy travel season."

The airport's strategy will concentrate on preparing travelers to get to the
airport well ahead of their flight, and telling them what to expect in
security lines so they can get through with a minimum of delay.

On the screeners' end, "We're trying to come up with some metrics and
(techniques) that, taken together, will streamline the process for
everyone," Fierberg said.

DIA was on a TSA list of 25 airports nationwide that are at risk for lengthy
security-screening delays this summer. Some project the 2004 summer to be
the busiest since 2000, before the Sept. 11 attacks caved in the airline
economy.

The airport will also have fewer screeners this summer than it did last
year, Fierberg said, although he declined to specify the size of the
screening force, citing TSA policy.

In November, the airport was authorized to have as many as 846 screeners,
although it was under that total, thanks to a hiring freeze.

The freeze is in place to keep the screening workforce at or under the
45,000 mandated by Congress, which means DIA may not get to replace
positions lost to attrition. Vacancies at one airport may end up allowing
another airport with a greater need to hire additional screeners, Fierberg
said. But DIA will not be forced to lay off screeners for another airport's
hiring needs, he stressed.

Security wait times at DIA averaged about 18 to 20 minutes at peak travel
times over the winter, Fierberg said. While not ideal, the delays are not as
bad as the 30 to 45 minute waits frequently seen at comparably sized
airports, such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, Fierberg said.

The TSA is developing a national passenger-outreach strategy, anchored by a
plan to get passengers to think more carefully about what they pack in their
bags, and not to lock checked baggage. Prohibited items and locked bags are
responsible for most of the screening delays.

Fierberg said that the TSA's national strategy will be supplemented by the
local campaign DIA and the airlines are now developing.

Passenger traffic at DIA from January to February, the latest figures
available, was up more than 200,000 from a year before in each month, said
DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon. He couldn't offer any traffic projections for
the summer months, although he said airline bookings for the season have
been heavy, approaching 80 percent of capacity.


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