May 8, 2008
New Security Lines at Midway
The TSA is rolling out a new security-line system at Midway. Starting today, passengers will sort themselves into three different lanes to go through the security check, based on their experience and efficiency as travelers (and packers). People who know the ropes, like business travelers, will go in the expert lane; people who are inexperienced travelers or who have kids with them go in the novice lane; and anyone who's not sure or is somewhere in between goes in the casual lane.
Airport officials say their goal is to get people through the security line in 10 minutes or less, which sounds like an effing miracle to us. Plus it'll make it easier to catch terrorists.
...[T]he new screening lanes at Midway fit well into the security agency's strategy to make the airport environment more casual and predictable for passengers so the behavior detection officers can better red-flag potential troublemakers, said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition. "If you are a terrorist, you probably are not going to go into the family line."
Because O'Hare has so many different security checkpoints, the TSA says using a similar system there is more challenging, but that they're looking into it. [Trib]
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Sounds like a great idea, except are they going to enforce it? I was recently in the Orlando airport where they have the same thing, and there were people who were obviously novices in the Expert Traveler line. Also, when the family line is a mile long, I would be surprised if they actually make them wait when people are flying through the expert line.
"Plus it'll make it easier to catch terrorists.... [i]f you are a terrorist, you probably are not going to go into the family line."
Yeah, because terrorists would never be able to figure out how to thwart this ingenious and complicated system of classification.
If it really does speed up getting through the morass of the checkpoint, I'm all for it. But please, help catch terrorists??!
no doubt, dave. effin' ridiculous. are they going to kick families out of the casual traveler lane? grrrrr.
This is going to aggravate so many more than it is intended to help. "Frequent Flier" lanes at O'Hare aren't much better; just shorter. And, how long before Midway starts placing a premium on the "expert" lane? Just another bourgeoisie tactic to keep the proletariat down! Let them eat cake, I say!
What an interesting example of the state of our collective intelligence. I am always amazed at all of the people who seem shocked at getting to the front of the line and find out they need to take off their shoes. They have just been standing in a line watching the 75 people in front of them take off their shoes!
Pay attention people. Make the world a little better place for all of us and figure out what is happening outside of your little bubble.
That said, do you think I can put "TSA certified Expert Traveler" on my resume?
Won't people still gravitate to the line that's shortest?
I was waiting for someone at Midway airport last weekend and I noticed these.
I thought it was comical they hired a security staffer to sit in front of the lines just to explain it to newcomers.
I saw it in Denver and thought it was just a catchy sign or a clever reminder to take off your shoes, etc. Didn't notice that people were actually separating themselves into these lines based on skill level.
Now that I recall it, there was one of those puff machines in the slow lane. So if you wanted to get puffed, that was the place to be.
What if it's a family of terrorists?
What if you're a casual terrorist-- yknow, you wear jeans.
If there's a way to separate families or just people with way too much shit who are almost always unprepared when they get to the bins, I'm down.