"Security delays tolerable at these five airports"

Sunday, July 11, 2004

Security delays tolerable at these five airports
The Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer


Everyone talks about the ordeal of plodding through airport security in
the United States. The expectation, therefore, is that European
airports, with their added passport controls, must be major messes.

Think again.

On a recent trip to four foreign capitals from Chicago, I went through
security, arrival and departure procedures at five airports, flying on
five airlines: American, British Airways, Alitalia, Air France and
Iberia.

At no airport - including Chicago's O'Hare, which is smoother than many
other U.S. airports - were delays excessive.

Here is how the pre-boarding and arrival processes compared. All timings
include periods spent waiting in lines before the actual processing:

Chicago - O'Hare

Departure (Terminal 3): security, four minutes. Arrival (Terminal 5):
passport control, five minutes.

London - Heathrow

Arrival: passport control, two minutes. Departure: security, 14 minutes.

Rome - Leonardo da Vinci

Arrival: passport control, one minute. Departure: security, 14 minutes.

Paris - Charles de Gaulle

Arrival: passport control, none. Departure: security, two minutes.

Madrid - Barajas

Arrival: passport control, none. Departure: passport control, 30
seconds; security, 21/2 minutes. (At Iberia gates, there was a second
check of passports and boarding passes, plus random hand-searches of
carry-on baggage. Mine were not searched.)


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