Airport self-select security lanes debut today

David Joles, Star Tribune file

Travelers lined up at a security gate at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport.

In the name of speed and efficiency, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport beginning today will allow passengers to self-select a security lane: expert travelers, casual travelers and -- in the slow lane -- families.

By LIZ FEDOR, Star Tribune

Last update: May 16, 2008 - 12:12 PM

Do you consider yourself an expert air traveler or a casual one?

Just one of the airport's six security checkpoints will test the program, which was first tried in two cities earlier this year and has already expanded to more than a dozen airports. Passengers get to choose the lane themselves.

"The expert lane is for frequent fliers and those who are very familiar with our screening procedures," said Carrie Harmon, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

While frequent fliers know all of the rules and want to move as rapidly as possible through security, many parents traveling with small children need more time to fold strollers and get lots of shoes off and on.

"We heard from expert travelers that it's sometimes stressful for them to be behind people who are not so familiar with the screening process," Harmon said.

In addition, she said, some families "appreciate a lane where they don't feel pressured to get through as quickly and can get special assistance."

Borrowing phrases and icons from the ski slopes, the TSA has dubbed the lines for expert travelers as the black-diamond lanes.

This new approach, where passengers select lanes based on the types of travelers, was first tested in Denver and Salt Lake City. After being introduced in February, the practice has been expanded for use at all checkpoints at those airports, Harmon said.

More than a dozen airports are using the new lanes. Harmon said some airports have eliminated the casual-traveler lane -- or blue in that ski slope lingo -- and are just using the expert and family lanes.

The new lane choices are designed to create a calmer environment, Harmon said.

Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, said MSP airport officials hope the lanes will make the security process more efficient for local travelers. "Every airport is configured a little differently, so what works at one airport doesn't necessarily work at another," he said.

Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709

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