"Orlando airport tells fliers to do the little things to help ease wait times"

Friday, May 26, 2006

Airport tells fliers to do the little things to help ease wait times
By Beth Kassab
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel 

 
Orlando International Airport is expected to be busier than usual Saturday
as the start of the summer travel season kicks off with the Memorial Day
weekend.

Officials expect 60,000 people -- up from a typical day of 47,000 -- to
depart from OIA. Monday is expected to be close behind, with 59,000
departures, airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said.

The anticipated crowds have security officials planning ways to head off the
long lines that have already plagued Orlando passengers this year with waits
exceeding 45 minutes.

Federal Security Director Art Meinke said he is prepared to call in workers
on overtime and is taking advantage of contractors hired by the airport to
help security officers scan bags for explosives.

"It [the contractors] gives us the opportunity to put more people on the
checkpoint," said Meinke, the local director for the Transportation Security
Administration. "That'll give us an average of two extra lanes per shift
that we otherwise would not have."

But some of the biggest time savers, he said, are steps passengers can take
themselves.

In Orlando, the TSA seizes 600 to 800 cigarette lighters every day from
passengers. Congress banned lighters on aircraft last year.

"Let's say it's 30 seconds to find each lighter. You're looking at 300 extra
minutes a day to find lighters that people could easily leave in their car,"
TSA spokesman Christopher White said.

Smokers craving that post-flight puff have no reason to fret, though.
Passengers are allowed to carry up to three books of matches.

With Orlando's heavy vacation traffic, strollers pose another problem at the
security checkpoints, Meinke said. Parents often don't realize they need to
take all of their belongings out of the stroller and fold it up to be
scanned.

Meinke said he typically tries to create a "stroller lane" during heavy
travel days.

"People see what other people are doing, and they start getting ready," he
said. "I put a stroller on every lane, and I shut down the checkpoint."

While cooperative passengers can help move security lines faster, passengers
might find they reach their destinations quicker for another reason.

On Saturday, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is
scheduled to open its long-awaited fifth runway to regular commercial
traffic. The additional space is likely to reduce delays by about 50
percent, Delta Air Lines spokesman Anthony Black said.

That's good news for Delta and AirTran Airways passengers. Both airlines
route many of their flights to and from Orlando through hubs in Atlanta.

"The operation flow will be a lot smoother," Black said.

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