McCarran officials gear up for high-traffic summer

Jace Radke

Monday, June 30, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

McCarran International Airport's new security checkpoints should help alleviate long lines for air travelers later this summer but they won't be ready in time for the busy Fourth of July weekend.

Until the new checkpoints are finished, people flying out of McCarran could have to wait in lines of more than an hour at the security checkpoints.

McCarran is set to open three new checkpoints, two serving the C Gates and one serving the D Gates, by the end of July, airport spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said.

"The two new C Gate checkpoints will be in an unused area near the bus drop-off and curbside area, and passengers there will be directed to use the new checkpoints," Grey said.

The new checkpoints will bring the airport's total to 25, nearly doubling the 13 checkpoints McCarran was operating prior to the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Construction is also set to begin this summer on a mezzanine expansion that would add a floor above the baggage claim area to allow for more screening space on the second floor. The $10 million project could add as many as six more checkpoints.

While the construction is going on, travelers can expect to see the familiar peak and valley line variations that can result in waits of more than an hour at McCarran, Grey said.

"The lines usually don't stay at an hour for long, but when it's a peak time it's just a function of how busy we are," Grey said. "We recommend that people have a plan in mind and leave themselves some extra time, especially when they are flying at a peak time."

McCarran sees peaks when thousands of tourists are leaving town at the same time, usually on Sunday afternoons and Monday mornings.

About 92 percent of the airport's 36 million annual passengers are coming to or leaving from Las Vegas, not simply catching a connecting flight. This means that a higher percentage of passengers at McCarran go through security checkpoints, making for longer lines.

On an average day about 60,000 people travel through McCarran, but during peak times that number can increase to more than 100,000 travelers, Grey said.

The summer travel season, and especially holiday weekends will also mean longer lines, Grey said.

Some airports are predicting waits of up to two hours during the summer travel season, especially over holiday weekends.

"Now that the summer peak is with us, the lines are going to get horrendous," Ben DeCosta, general manager of Atlanta's Hartsfield International, predicted. "People are missing flights, and flights are getting delayed."

At Los Angeles International, 1,000 passengers of one major airline recently missed their flights over a four-day period because of checkpoint backups. Compounding the problem: The Transportation Security Administration is gradually cutting 6,000 of 55,000 screener jobs by Sept. 30. "We're working to get the right number of screeners" at every airport, says TSA spokesman Robert Johnson.

At McCarran, TSA officials have scheduled personnel around peak periods in the hopes of mitigating lines, Grey said. When avaliable TSA screeners walk lines and tell passengers about what security checks they will be put through to help speed up the lines.

Along with McCarran other airports that are expected to have long waits this summer because of high traffic or limited space for checkpoints include:

Paul Haney, LAX deputy executive director, says waits in different terminals can take an hour or more. Closure of one checkpoint can result in another half-hour backup. The airport is 500 screeners short, he adds.

"The lines are unbelievable," AirTran Airways spokesman Tad Hutcheson said.

Johnson said the terminal layout limits how many checkpoints can be installed. DeCosta said $6 million could fix it. "The space is there, but the money isn't," he said.

Plans are afoot to increase the number of checkpoint lanes to 10, up from seven. A store and bathroom are being removed to make more space.

USA Today

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