"Dulles Passengers Delayed by Luggage: Screening Machines Can't Keep Up"

Monday, July 4, 2005

Dulles Passengers Delayed by Luggage
Screening Machines Can't Keep Up
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
The Washington (DC) Post


Passengers at Dulles International Airport are hearing a new excuse for
flight delays this year. It's not weather. It's not hangups at the security
checkpoint. It's just luggage.

A surge in air travel combined with a busy schedule of flights, all trying
to depart at the same time, has overwhelmed the Transportation Security
Administration's ability to screen checked luggage on time. The launch of
budget carrier Independence Air and expanded service by foreign carriers
boosted traffic by 39 percent in April, the most recent figure available,
compared with the same month a year ago, the Metropolitan Washington
Airports Authority said.
 
As a result, a few airlines have encountered repeated delays because there
aren't enough luggage screening machines for their use in the basement of
Dulles's main terminal. After passengers board, the planes must wait for the
checked luggage to be screened and loaded in the hold. All checked luggage
must be screened through a minivan-sized explosive-detection machine,
according to federal requirements put in place after the terrorist attacks
in 2001.

Tom Tripp, spokesman for Lufthansa, said afternoon flights to Munich and
Frankfurt are often delayed as much as an hour because of the limited number
of luggage screening machines. "Unfortunately, it's not uncommon" to have a
45-minute to one hour delay, Tripp said. "We are deeply concerned. The worst
thing is we experienced a lot of this last year, and it's unfortunate we
didn't get some lessons learned from last summer."

Independence Air, which rapidly expanded at Dulles last year, said it
regularly is hit by luggage delays, but usually lasting no more than 10
minutes.

Other airlines suffering delays include JetBlue, Air France, Virgin, Korean,
Austrian, Scandinavian, Taca and Continental. All of these carriers use the
same four machines in the terminal's basement, which can each scan about 100
bags per hour.

United, which operates a hub at Dulles, has six luggage screening machines
in its basement and several upstairs in the ticket counter area. Delta,
Northwest, American, British Airways and KLM share four screening machines
in the basement.

Yolanda Clark, a TSA spokeswoman, said the agency is evaluating the
airport's request for four additional machines, but it does not have the
money to buy the machines, install them and hire more screeners to operate
them. Also, she said, conditions may be too tight for more machines in the
southeast basement.

The screening problem exists because many of the airlines thatshare the same
luggage belt system have scheduled large international flights to depart
from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m, according to several carriers. Morning and late
evening flights and other airlines do not seem to have been affected. During
the afternoon, TSA screeners have 1,000 to 1,200 more bags than the machines
can possibly screen, said Richard P. DeiTos Jr., who represents airlines at
Dulles.

The slowdown is sometimes made worse because passengers on international
flights tend to carry large pieces of luggage -- and more of it. Sometimes
the bags don't fit inside the screening machines. Other times, they contain
food items that set off alarms on the machines and require screeners to dig
inside the bags, DeiTos said.

"You're seeing traffic increase to meet and exceed pre-9/11 levels," DeiTos
said. "TSA needs to expand equipment and personnel to meet that demand."

Some carriers, such as Austrian Airlines, have requested to move to another
ticket counter so they can use a different screening station. Others, such
as JetBlue and Lufthansa, are meeting with the TSA directly to argue for
installation of more screening machines.

TSA screeners at Dulles, who declined to be identified for fear of being
reprimanded by superiors, said the machines break down nearly every day
because they are outside and cannot perform well in the summer heat. Repairs
can last at least an hour and in some cases take machines out for the entire
day.

Airline personnel have been asked to help out by carting luggage to and from
other screening stations.

James E. Bennett, chief executive of the airport authority, recommended that
passengers on international flights arrive at the airport 2 1/2 hours before
their scheduled departures. He said the airport has asked the TSA to help
resolve the problem, but he could not offer a timetable. "It's a challenge
for all parties involved to get the resources to match the demand," Bennett
said. "Dulles airport is experiencing record growth."


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