"At San Luis Obispo airport, a traffic jam"

Thursday, January 20, 2005

At the airport, a traffic jam
A growing number of business people are flying in and out of SLO County's
air service hub; limited space and a single security checkpoint have made
mornings a rush hour of frustration
By Monika Tjia
The San Luis Obispo (CA) Tribune


Every day, hundreds of local business people rely on the San Luis Obispo
County Regional Airport to reach their destinations quickly and safely. But
lately the airport has been a source of frustration as many passengers
scramble to catch their early morning flights.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the airport has been bogged down from 5:45 to 7 a.m.
-- the prime time for business travelers. The facility is often packed as
people make their way through a single security checkpoint to get on five
flights.

"It's a little easier for both me and the airport staff to fly later in the
day or the evening before," said Duke Energy spokesman Pat Mullen, who now
avoids early morning flights because of the hassle.

With little room for passengers and one security checkpoint, the airport is
inadequate for the number of travelers, said David Garth, president and
chief executive officer of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce. Every
day, about 600 people depart from the airport and nearly 600 arrive. Last
year, 321,218 people flew in and out of the airport, an 8.9 percent increase
over 2003, according to airport officials.

About 50 percent to 60 percent of travelers flying out of the airport are
business travelers. During peak morning hours, 150 to 200 passengers pass
through the security checkpoint.

"The community has grown and air service has grown tremendously," Garth
said.

Airport management is aware of the tight space, said Klaasje Nairne, manager
of the airport. Plans are in the works to expand the terminal in the next
four to five years and extend the runway in two years, she said. The airport
may also move the table the Transportation Security Administration uses to
search bags for explosives to allow for more room in the lobby.

Passenger traffic will also flow more smoothly with the addition of a second
security checkpoint lane, said Joan Reilly, the TSA's local deputy federal
security director. The airport has requested another X-ray machine to speed
up the scanning of baggage. It has not been determined if and when the
request for an additional X-ray machine will be granted.

Reilly said there's no need for another walk-through metal detector because
that's not where the morning back-up occurs.

In the meantime, the security line is now closer to the metal detector to
make the line go faster.

"We changed the reconfiguration of the wait line in hopes that people will
become mentally prepared when they come up to the X-ray," Reilly said.

It takes passengers 20 to 23 minutes to get through the security checkpoint,
airport officials said. TSA's goal is 15 minutes or less.

"I don't know if we can make that here unless we get a second unit," Nairne
said.

Even with the proposed changes, there's no guarantee business travelers will
move through the security checkpoint any faster. Airport officials advise
passengers to arrive more than an hour before departure.

"When people show up late, it makes it very difficult for everyone involved
to get them through and on the plane," said Craig Piper, airport operations
supervisor.

Some frequent travelers are heeding that advice.

Bob Wacker, president of financial advisory firm R.E. Wacker Associates,
arrives an hour before his flight, especially when he travels in the
morning.

The San Luis Obispo resident travels once a month and knows what it's like
to cut it close.

"I've certainly been the last one on the plane more than once," he said.


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