February theme: Aviation securityTSA experiment with passengers choosing between lanes
Families with children and passengers with a lot of baggage arrive at airports hours before their flights; business people typically arrive at the last minute; some passengers fly more often than others; TSA wants to see whether offering different passengers different lanes would help efficiency and security
We wrote a few days ago about a new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) pilot program which aims to emulate movement of people on ski slopes for the purpose of making airport security checkpoints calmer — and perhaps safer — by allowing passengers to pick a lane that suits their pace. Here is an update from CQ’s Rob Margetta: TSA’s plan, known as “black diamond,” went into effect at Salt Lake City International Airport last week and will soon be expanded to Denver International Airport. TSA said that because the airports are near major downhill skiing centers, it went with a ski motif for the different lanes. Green circle is for families and passengers who need special assistance, blue square is for casual travelers who are somewhat familiar with checkpoint procedures and have multiple carry-on bags, and black diamond is for experts, those who are well-versed in security protocol and have limited carry-on baggage. Security remains the same for all of the lanes. “The way it’s set up, everyone in the checkpoint goes through the system,” TSA spokesman Christopher White said. “They can just do it at a rate they’re comfortable with.” After a few days of running the program, TSA said it cannot give numbers for how many people have passed through or how fast, but White said they’re happy with the feedback so far.
The agency will measure future success in terms of the lanes’ speed and efficiency, along with comments from those who pass through. The pilot is open-ended. White said TSA has already implemented a few lessons learned from black diamond’s first days. For instance, he said, the “casual traveler” signs originally said “frequent traveler,” leading some passengers to believe the lane was for those enrolled in frequent flyer programs. Many of the programs that restructure checkpoint lines — such as Registered Traveler, which is operated by private companies and promises speed for a fee — are aimed at those who travel the most often, usually for business, but White said the family lanes were one of the prime concerns for the black diamond program. He said families and those who need special assistance often feel harried by those in line behind them. In fact, he said, there are plans to put just a family lane in Burbank Glendale Pasadena Airport, in California. “Passengers feel pressure from other passengers,” he said.
Roger Dow, president of the
