Remember when you could show up at the airport 15 minutes before a flight and still catch your plane?
Those days, prior to Sept. 11, 2001, are long gone. Yet in the past year, flying has become easier as clearing security has become faster.
At most major U.S. airports, domestic travelers rarely spend more than 10 minutes at checkpoints, the Transportation Security Administration said. Two years ago, passengers frequently waited an hour or more.
“It’s getting progressively better,” said Stuart Klaskin, an aviation consultant and frequent flier. “It’s more of a streamlined process.”
Why have checkpoints calmed down?
Partly, it is because the recession has dampened air travel. Mainly, according to TSA officials, it is the result of new procedures and technology.
The agency hopes to make the security process even easier — but not necessarily faster.
“We’re really focusing on making sure it’s a comfortable experience,” said Sari Koshetz, a TSA spokeswoman. “The goal is to be as customer-friendly as possible and to be as secure as possible.”
Despite quicker checkpoints, the TSA hasn’t relaxed its quest to find dangerous items, Koshetz said. The agency continues to pull as many passengers aside for secondary screenings as it did two years ago, when checkpoints were considerably busier.
“We know that the transportation network and aviation sector in particular are still considered high-value targets by terrorists,” Koshetz said.
Since the attacks eight years ago, the TSA has steadily upgraded its technology. The agency uses advanced X-ray machines to scan carry-on items from multiple angles, allowing for fewer hand searches. The TSA also uses millimeter-wave machines, which rely on imaging technology to screen passengers for explosives and other dangerous items.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of passengers have learned the routine: Take off shoes, pull out laptops and make sure liquids are in 3-ounce containers. That, too, has helped shorten security lines.
Although boarding an airliner has become quicker, some question whether current security procedures could prevent another terrorist attack. “I don’t believe we’re appreciably safer than we were on Sept. 11,” Klaskin said. “It’s much more theater than it is reality, and that’s disheartening.”
Koshetz disputes that, saying multiple layers of security are now in place, many going “far beyond” physical screenings at checkpoints. Some of those include shared intelligence gathered by U.S. security agencies checking passenger manifests against watch lists, and securing flights with federal air marshals and armed pilots.
“Each one of these layers alone is capable of stopping a terrorist attack,” Koshetz said.
David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade organization representing the principal U.S. airlines, said in the years immediately following the terrorist attacks, the security process was a “nightmare.” Today, he said, airline passengers will find the checkpoints are “running smoothly.”
Most domestic passengers arrive at the airport an hour to 90 minutes ahead of a flight. Those who travel only with carry-on bags and use less congested airports can arrive as soon as 45 minutes before a flight, Castelveter said.
Not long ago, the airlines asked passengers to show up three hours in advance.
Some airports still see lines up to an hour during peak times, aviation insiders say. Among them: Los Angeles, New York’s John F. Kennedy, Atlanta, Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare and Orlando.
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Screening technology
Here are some of the ways the Transportation Security Administration has changed its security procedures.
Family lanes: Used at all U.S. airports, allowing those who don’t want to be rushed to move into a slower lane.
Hand-held liquid bottle scanners: Allow people with medical needs and mothers with baby formula to bring containers with more than 3 ounces of liquid through checkpoints.
Explosives Trace Detectors: Identify explosives in carry-on items; also used during secondary screenings.
Explosives Detection Systems: Identify explosives in checked baggage.
Source: Transportation Security Administration
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kkaye@tribune.com
