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Around the World in a Day at Dallas/Ft. Worth

Press & Happenings

September 14, 2007

You do not have to visit the United Nations to hear languages from around the world. Simply listen to TSOs at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal D Central Checkpoint.

That is the terminal for international flights where you can meet people like Supervisory Transportation Security Officer Gerald Anderson. He can speak to travelers in more than 125 languages, with his vocabulary spanning between 50 and 1,000 words in each tongue.

Anderson's lifelong passion for languages led him to develop "cheat sheets" in over 40 languages that TSOs use to greet and screen international passengers, thus helping them to comfortably navigate airport security. About 10 TSOs at the checkpoint are bi- or multi-lingual.

"We lessen the stress of international passengers by using a few words to meet, greet and assist," said Anderson. "[We mainly use] less than 25 words."

Spanish, Portuguese, German, Japanese and Korean are the languages most commonly employed at the checkpoint. Several airlines, including Lufthansa, British Airways and Korean Airways, have recognized the TSOs for their efforts.

TSO Daulat "Dolly" Allibhai speaks English, Spanish, Hindi, Swahili, Gujarati, Urdu and knows a little sign language. She is working on her Farsi and Arabic. "Lots of people speak foreign languages and don’t understand what is going on. …," she said. "[Many passengers] say that they appreciate what we are doing."