Air travelers face Monday blues

Eric Leake

Tuesday, March 11, 2003 | 11:08 a.m.

Waiting to enter the McCarran International Airport D gates at midday Monday, a business traveler from Chicago who would give his name only as David was among many caught in a different kind of rush hour.

David said he went to the airport expecting travel delays -- and he found them.

"This is completely expected and there's nothing you can do about it," he said. "I go all over the world and (McCarran) is the worst in the world."

David arrived at the airport two hours early to try to beat the rush. He packed only carry-on baggage in another effort to save time. Still, he fully expected a long wait.

"It's McCarran. It'll take two hours," he said.

Forty minutes into the line, traveler Clint Wilson called it "horrible."

But in two hours the line was almost gone.

Wilson, David and many others were caught in the airport's routine rush of Sunday and Monday morning travelers leaving Las Vegas.

Hilarie Grey, airport public affairs manager, said post-weekend delays are common at McCarran. Once the rush -- or "peak" -- is over, it's also common for lines to dissipate quickly, she said.

"Monday is about the biggest peak we have," Grey said. "If you would have been here last Monday, you would have seen the same thing. ... You get a peak where everybody's arriving at once, and it clears out quickly."

McCarran is second only to Los Angeles International Airport as the busiest airport in the world in terms of numbers of passengers originating or finishing a trip.

Grey said that 92 percent of the airport's 36 million annual passengers are coming to or leaving from Las Vegas, not simply catching a connecting flight.

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.

Those passengers fuel the processing lines. Add to that heightened security nationwide, and the lines for the C gates can sometimes back up behind the baggage overlook, around the Las Vegas Autoraceway bar and grill and past the Tex-Mex restaurant.

"We usually see lines at the C gates at between 30 and 45 minutes during peak times," Grey said. "That's why we recommend that people get here early because security screening takes time, especially during peak times."

Transportation Security Administration officials understand that McCarran is unique when it comes to travel patterns.

"The goal is 10-minute waits, but there is no cookie-cutter approach when it comes to airports," TSA Western Region spokeswoman Suzanne Luber said. "McCarran's peaks are very high, and we work with the airport to provide extra staffing during those times."

At McCarran on Monday morning and through early afternoon, some lines of about 30 minutes did form in the checkpoint area for the C Gates, officials with the airport and Southwest Airlines said.

"All five checkpoints were open and moving people through," Grey said.

Southwest, McCarran's biggest carrier, reported no problems at its gates or passengers missing flights Monday because of having to wait in line for a security check.

Grey recommends travelers arrive at the airport an hour or two early.

It's advice Donna Fauscette already follows. The kindergarten and first grade teacher from Discovery Bay, Calif., got to the airport an hour an a half early Monday for her flight back home.

"And that's because I didn't have to check my bags. If I had to check my bags it'd take longer," she said.

While other people may have looked at the lines with dismay, Fauscette looked past them, happily, to the security points.

"I see some people getting mad about having to go through the security and getting checked. They should be glad," she said. "They can search my bags, they can make me walk around with my shoes off. ... I'm fine with that."

People waited in long queues to pass through the five security portals for the C gates and six for the D gates, part of the airport's plan to manage the lines.

Cory Santos, 28, had just seen his girlfriend through the lines on her way to Michigan. He understood that she was traveling at the most popular time of the week. The Las Vegas attorney just wished airport personnel could be a little nicer.

"I understand the security problem, but they could just be friendlier, especially when people are late as it is," Santos said.

He said not all the airport workers were rude, but the ones who were made for a bad time. He suggested they work more on explaining and less on commanding.

"People are nervous anyway to fly," Santos said. "The people at the airport add to the situation."