"Reno Airport officials study ways to ease congestion"

Friday, June 11, 2004

Airport officials study ways to ease congestion
Security: Rising passenger volume prompts consideration of new ideas.
THE RENO (NV) GAZETTE-JOURNAL


Airport passenger volume has reached the highest levels since the 2001
terrorist attacks, prompting airport and security officials to develop
immediate and long-term plans to ease congestion.

Plans under consideration include moving an airline to another concourse,
widening the security screening area and adding more X-ray machines.

About 65 percent of traffic through Reno/Tahoe International Airport boards
on Concourse B, including Southwest Airlines, which has about half the
airport's flights, and Northwest Airlines. Shifting an airline to Concourse
C could help balance traffic between the concourses, airport spokesman Brian
Kulpin said.

The prospect of moving one airline still is "early in the talking stages,"
Kulpin said.

Meanwhile, plans are under way to enlarge the security areas for both
concourses, giving the Transportation Security Administration room to add
security lines. Plans are to install an additional X-ray machine at
Concourse B for summer traffic.

That expansion also is in the planning phases, Kulpin said, and likely would
not begin for at least a year. Enlarging that area could provide some
relief.

"We have an older facility here in terms of the terminal, so we've had to
wedge the new security system in there," Kulpin said.

Several passengers heading to their planes Thursday said the TSA is doing an
excellent job getting passengers through the security checkpoints in Reno,
but that is not the case across the country.

James Haverton, 69, of Reno, said he travels about once a month and while
the Reno airport has one of the fastest security lines, he is confident
screeners do a thorough job.

"I don't know how they could do it any better actually, unless they
strip-searched everybody and we got on the plane naked," Haverton said.

Traffic at airports across the country could have 20 percent more traffic
this summer than last, prompting the TSA to launch a public information
campaign that includes putting more workers in front of the security lines
to help ease passengers through the screening process.

Such help could include answering questions or waving a security wand over
people's shoes to determine whether they need to put them through the X-ray
machines, according to Federal Security Director Steve Pansky at the Reno
airport.

This summer, new signs will give passengers an estimated wait time from
various points in the lines to help reduce stress, Pansky said. Once people
reach the security lines, they should not wait more than 30 minutes during
the busiest times, usually weekdays between 6:30 and 8 a.m.

Pansky said the TSA maintains that people traveling during peak times should
arrive as much as two hours before their flight.


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