The Transportation Security Administration’s latest effort to improve security lines: trying out lanes designed for families struggling with children.
They are being tested at the Denver and Salt Lake City airports.
The new lanes are being tested alongside “expert” lanes for travelers who know every nuance of security screening and lanes for “casual” travelers.
Screening is the same in each lane, and the program is voluntary.
“Segregated lanes could open around the country if the tests show the concept speeds up security lines,†says USA Today.
“The principle is a good one, and I think it will be very effective in airports that want to roll it out,” said Earl Morris, TSA’s security chief in Salt Lake City.
The Air Transport Association, which represents major airlines, is said to be supportive of the concept. Business travelers can “opt to the lane that allows them to move through the process quicker,” said spokesman David Castelveter.
The concept is criticized by Steven Brill, however, whose Verified Identity Pass has been hired by 14 airports to speed up security for fee-paying customers.
“Everyone who’s traveling with a kid is ghettoized,” Mr Brill said. “Adding to the frustration of certain people so you lessen the frustration of others is not good public policy.”
Report by David Wilkening
