Las Vegas airport exploits smaller EDSs to free up space for passenger screening nodes
To facilitate surge in traffic, Las Vegas airport devotes less space to EDS —now possible because of smaller size of machines
In our book, Las Vegas McCarran International Airport is the ugliest, noisiest, and most inhospitable airport we have been to —and we have been to a few over the years. Still, for the second consecutive year McCarran posted an annual record, this time with nearly 44.3 million arriving and departing passengers. This is up 6.8 percent from 2004, and 22 percent better than the nearly 36.3 million travelers reported just two years ago. To accommodate this steady growth in traffic, the airport is planning to introduce a second in-line baggage screening node in the main terminal. Two more nodes will open by the end of the year, freeing up much-needed space within ticketing areas that now house several truck-size explosive detection machines. Advances in explosive detection technology now allow for much smaller machines, occupying far less space, thus freeing more space for passenger amenities.