"More Fliers, Fewer Screeners Spell Summer Airport Delays in Charleston, S.C."

Friday, May 14, 2004

More Fliers, Fewer Screeners Spell Summer Airport Delays in Charleston,
S.C.
The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier


Leave early and bring an extra book if you're traveling by air this
summer, because an increase in passengers and a decrease in security
personnel promise gridlock at airport terminals nationwide.

Charleston, which has successfully fought security staff cuts, probably
will not get lines longer than 15 minutes, said Debra Engel, the TSA's
federal security director for Charleston and Myrtle Beach "We do
certainly expect it to be a very busy travel season, but we've not seen
anything to indicate that we won't be able to handle the loads," Engel
said.

But Myrtle Beach, where air traffic and service has grown quickly in
recent months, will be strapped. Also, Lowcountry-bound travelers can
expect to miss flights at hubs like Atlanta's Hartsfield airport and
Washington's Dulles.

The Air Transport Association, a carrier trade group, is forecasting 65
million passengers a month starting in June. That's a 12 percent jump
from last year and more people than U.S. airports have processed since
the summer of 2001.

That's good news for the struggling airline industry. However, there
will be 5,000 fewer federal security screeners. The Transportation
Security Administration, which handles airport screening nationwide, has
been pushed by Congress to cut staff by 10 percent to rein in spending.

April and May are traditionally the busiest months at the Charleston
airport, but the terminal will see an increase in service this summer.

Continental Airlines Inc. is adding another daily nonstop to Houston
starting June 1. Delta Air Lines is adding a daily nonstop to New York's
JFK on June 1 and a second on July 1. And Independence Air, a new
discount carrier that plans to start flying out of Washington's Dulles
airport in June, has said it may serve Charleston with up to eight
flights a day.

The local terminal currently has the equivalent of 99 full-time
screeners.

It's budgeted for 110 and will start training some new hires in June,
Engel said.

"We've been very lucky because we rarely, if ever, have had a line in
Charleston," she said.

Myrtle Beach, on the other hand, has not been able to add screeners fast
enough to keep pace with air traffic. The airport was originally
budgeted for about 56 security staff and now has the equivalent of 72
screeners, with approval to hire 20 more in June.

Thirty-minute lines at the Myrtle Beach terminal are not uncommon, and
TSA has had to bring in temporary personnel to handle the extra volume.
This spring, 16 members of the roving National Screening Force were
stationed in the Grand Strand for the seasonal surge of vacationers.
Three are still there and others are scheduled to return this summer.

TSA also is in the process of moving its baggage-screening machines into
airline offices to free up terminal space.

Because of training requirements, new TSA screeners won't be able to
work alone on security duty until late June.

TSA has identified 25 airports that have the biggest potential to be
crowded, a list that includes Atlanta's Hartsfield, Charlotte's Douglas,
Chicago's O'Hare and Washington's Dulles. Four out of five flights into
Charleston leave from airports on the TSA's list of hot spots.

In preparation for the rush, the agency will schedule more "divestiture
coaches" to better arrange travelers waiting in line for the detectors.
TSA is also rolling out a "robust" media campaign to educate passengers
on what they can do to make the screening process go smoothly.

Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, an
independent association for corporate travel managers, expects flight
delays and cancellations, especially at big hub airports.

"It's going to be serious if the TSA does not shore this up as they say
they will," he said. "And I'm kind of skeptical. I don't think they're
up for this." Mitchell said delays could be exacerbated by the airlines'
shift to more flights on smaller planes. While the passenger volume may
be at levels last seen in 2000, there will undoubtedly be more planes in
the air.

At a Congressional hearing Thursday, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla, asked TSA to
put out real-time delay information that can be accessed by cell phones
and digital planners.

"In 60 days come up with a plan to get the information on one of those,"
he ordered TSA Deputy Administrator Stephen McHale. "And don't tell me
it can't be done."


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