If you’re traveling for business or pleasure this summer and paying even scant attention to the news, you know to plan for longer-than-usual security checkpoint lines at the airport. Whether you’ve followed exhortations to join TSA PreCheck or you’re just bringing your family on your once-a-year flights to Grandma’s, you should be prepared for some challenges.
The good news is that airports and airlines, some of which have pitched in their own funds for extra staffing, are reporting improvements in passenger processing times. And for its part, TSA is working overtime to reassure travelers that its 10-point plan is having its intended impact.
But, given that many of the nation’s largest airports usually experience their busiest travel days in the summer, it may be helpful to know which days or weeks are, historically, the busiest and what some airports are doing this year to prepare.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Sunday after Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year. But ATL also experiences heavy traffic over Independence Day and Labor Day weekends, with the heaviest traffic expected the Friday before each weekend.
Given a strong economy and reduced air fares, ATL is expecting to see the same peak days this summer, said ATL spokesman Andy Gobeil, and to prepare, “we communicate on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis with not only the TSA, but also with our airline partners.”
At ATL, the TSA has increased staffing, added canine teams and, in partnership with Delta Air Lines, implemented two “innovation lanes” at one security checkpoint to speed up the lines.
In 2015, the busiest travel day at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport was Aug. 3 (92,497 originating passengers), with July 6 (90, 276 passengers) not far behind.
This year, the Chicago Department of Aviation expects a variety of high-traffic days at ORD during June, July and August and is working with the TSA and its airline partners “to explore every possible option” to help reduce TSA wait times, said CDA spokesman Gregg Cunningham.
Denver International Airport usually sees its peak travel days in July and August and this year so expects the busiest traffic days during the July Fourth holiday week.
To help out at the checkpoints this summer, DEN has hired seven contract security workers to assist with passenger divesting, bin management and line management.
July and August (peak season for cruises to Alaska) are traditionally the busiest months at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Thursday and Fridays are the busiest traffic days.
Passenger traffic at SEA for 2016 has been up 10% so far overall, so in anticipation of a record number of summer travelers, the airport hired 90 full-time equivalent private workers to free up TSA personnel.
Peak days at San Francisco International Airport occur during summer, “in part because airlines typically increase the available seats for the summer season,” said airport spokesman Doug Yakel, and this year should be no different.
Passenger traffic at SFO is up also up overall, and the previous all-time single-day record for traffic, set last August, was broken early this month, with 85,444 passengers departing SFO on a Friday.
To prepare for peak travel days at SFO, Yakel said officials meet weekly with the TSA to review security checkpoints and other security topics, and have planning meetings with airlines, service providers and other organizations to make sure staffing is appropriate for peak demand periods.
Elsewhere, Los Angeles International expects a record 24.5 million passengers to travel through the airport this summer, an increase of 7.3% over last summer’s record 22.8 million travelers.
The busiest week of the summer is expected to be July 18-24.
“Lines at the TSA passenger screening checkpoints at LAX are being managed,” the airport said in a statement, “but they are expected to grow longer as the summer progresses with more travelers.”
Based on three years of data, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey predicts the busiest days of summer at JFK International Airport will be Aug. 11, July 28, Aug. 4, July 21 and July 14, in that order.
Each of JFK’s terminals are managed separately, but the company that manages Terminal 4 (JFKIAT) teamed up with its 32 airline partners to invest more than a quarter of a million dollars on increasing staff levels at the terminal’s TSA checkpoints through Sept. 10, the weekend after Labor Day.
While March sees the busiest passenger traffic at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, PHX officials expect the July Fourth weekend to be the peak travel days this summer.
“We prepare for peak days by meeting with all of our partners — airlines, TSA, concessionaires, law enforcement and others — in advance,” said airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriquez, and during peak times “airport staff who usually work in the office wear special customer service vests and go out into the terminals to assist passengers and answer questions.”
Miami International Airport also sees its highest travel days during the winter travel season. But in preparation for the summer travel season, in May MIA officials went to Washington, D.C., to meet with TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger and other high-ranking federal officials, and came away with a commitment for 60 additional screening officers.
“The majority of those new officers have already started working at our checkpoints,” said MIA spokesman Greg Chin, and “Thanks to the new officers, we were able to open our Concourse D Checkpoint 4 during MIA’s highest peak hours.”
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is one of the beneficiaries of the $4 million American Airlines is spending this summer to help ease checkpoint backups at a variety of airports and, on peak days, the airport reallocates its volunteers, ambassadors and other staff as needed.
Going forward, DFW will have one more tool to help manage checkpoint traffic: In June, the airport’s board of directors approved a $600,000 contract to have AT&T anonymously track passenger cellphones in the airport to gather real-time information on wait times.
Harriet Baskas is a Seattle-based airports and aviation writer and USA TODAY Travel’s “At the Airport” columnist. Follow her at twitter.com/hbaskas.
Article reprinted from USAToday.com
