Airport security lines still busy

Monday, Aug. 30, 2004 | 11 a.m.

When seven new security lanes opened at the C- and D-gate concourses on Friday, they were welcomed as an answer to long lines at the airport at peak times.

But about noon on Sunday, the first big travel day after the lanes' addition, lines to get through the C- and D-gate security checkpoints spanned two city blocks on each side of the gateways, airport employee Daniel Pittet said.

By midafternoon the D-gate entrance had thinned, but the line still looked pretty long to Denver resident John Lee.

"It wasn't this busy last time," Lee said, as he prepared to approach one of the Transportation Security Administration screeners.

Lee had visited Las Vegas about four months ago, he said.

"I've never seen it this packed before," Lee said. "Even DIA (Denver International Airport), a bigger airport, didn't take this long."

Official passengers statistics for the weekend were not available this morning, as the Transportation Security Administration was still readying its monthly report, Elaine Sanchez, a spokeswoman for McCarran, said.

D-gate passengers typically head to Delta, United, American or Northwest airlines.

C-gate passengers, waiting for Southwest Airlines flights, had an even longer wait.

"Southwest is our No. 1 carrier," airport employee Shannon Freeman said. "It's always busy at C-gate."

Once a passenger proceeds through the security personnel, there's an average 15-minute wait to scan carry-on bags, Pittet said.

The seven new additions at the C and D gates brought the total number of checkpoints for those gates up to 19. Last month the national Transportation Security Administration increased the number of screeners at McCarran from 823 to 1,054 to staff them.

Despite passenger complaints and long lines obvious to the Sun, Sanchez said there were no significant, unexpected back-ups were reported at the checkpoints over the weekend.

"Everything went according to plan and people were going through the security checkpoints," she said.

Airport officials have said the TSA is still in the process of hiring the new screeners and were nearing a staff of about 900 on Friday.

Los Angeles resident John Buzas had never been through the security gauntlet at McCarran. "It's probably overall better than Los Angeles," Buzas said.

For Rhonda McArthur of Salt Lake City, her return home from Las Vegas turned into a frantic search for her husband.

McArthur was stopped in her tracks when a scanner found cuticle scissors in her carry-on bag. Her suitcase had been overweight and she had moved items into her carry-on bag.

"I appreciate their security," McArthur said. "I didn't even think about it. I just grabbed three shirts and the toiletries out of the suitcase.

"I spent $8 to send the scissors to myself," McArthur said, bobbing to look over the crowd for her husband, who had their tickets.

McArthur said she would have left the scissors, but they belonged to her sister, who died of cancer three years ago.