As reports continue to come with normal or below-normal wait times, this will be our final update of this post today.
Though volume was around expected levels, our preparations for today kept wait times at such a minimum that some airports are closing screening lanes due to a lack of passenger throughput.
In addition to our operational updates from the field, we’ve rounded up news coverage from across the country about today’s airport travel experience:
Though volume was around expected levels, our preparations for today kept wait times at such a minimum that some airports are closing screening lanes due to a lack of passenger throughput.
In addition to our operational updates from the field, we’ve rounded up news coverage from across the country about today’s airport travel experience:
The Dallas Morning News: TSA "outrage": There's no "there" there
New York Times: Travelers’ Reports: Better Than Expected
Denver Post: DIA: Smooth day at Denver airport
Boston Herald: Terrorism risks trivialized by media
Philadelphia Inquirer: Smooth traveling at airport
Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Pittsburgh travelers unfazed by new pat-downs, scanners
NYDN: Thanksgiving travelers opt out of National Opt-Out Day protest, TSA says no delays over body scans
The Plain Dealer: Smooth, protest-free traffic at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
Baltimore Sun: BWI traffic moves briskly despite plans for protest
Albany Times Union: Lines move smoothly at Albany Int'l Airport, rail, bus stations
Seattle King 5 News: Sea-Tac Airport lines move smoothly despite threat of protest
The Dallas Morning News: Security lines moving smoothly at D/FW Airport
SF Chron: Smooth sailing at Bay Area airports
Toronto Star: Travellers opt out of Opt-Out Day
Richmond Times Dispatch: RIC passengers move smoothly through security
LA Times: No unusual airport screening delays seen yet, but officials brace for possible 'opt out' protests
Chicago Sun Times: Despite security, few delays at O'Hare--so far
Orlando Sentinel: Big crowds, but small lines, at Orlando International Airport today
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: No crowds, protests at Hartsfield
Dayton Daily News: Dayton airport lines moving quickly; no delays reported
Additional Recent Clips, Op-Eds and Editorials
The Daily Beast: The Media's Pat-Down Frenzy
New York Times: Politicizing Airport Security
Washington Post: Don't Touch My Junk? Grow Up, America.
NYDN: Mayor Bloomberg To Passengers Outraged By Intrusive TSA Checks: Get Over It, It's To 'Keep You Safe'
Operational Updates as of 5 p.m. EST:
Dallas/Fort Worth: One Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) opt-out today, and wait times consistently under 12 minutes.
Dallas Love Field: Wait times under 3 minutes.
Salt Lake City: Wait times no more than 5 minutes at both checkpoints one and two; when open, checkpoint 3 has a 2-minute wait time. Across the airport, we have all lanes open and 6 AITs in operation.
Atlanta: 39 total AIT opt outs today (again, out of 47,000 fliers). All were screened and continued to their flights.
Newark: Average wait times today by terminal were 6 minutes for A and C, 11 minutes for B.
New Orleans: The longest reported wait time was approximately 13 minutes. Six passengers opted out of AIT screening. All were screened and continued to their flights.
Iowa and Kansas: No disruptions, no wait times greater than 10 minutes. According to federal security director, lots of passenger compliments.
Denver: Current wait times are 3-4 minutes per checkpoint.
Colorado Springs: 5-minute average wait time, and no AIT opt-outs.
Minneapolis: Wait times are currently 5-10 mins. No incidents.
Detroit: No wait time over 20 minutes all day.
Green Bay: Wait time is 3 minutes.
Indianapolis: 24-minute peak this morning at 6 a.m. Nothing near since.
Louisville: 5-10 minute wait times.
Los Angeles: Los Angeles: 113 AIT opt outs across LAX’s 8 terminals, which is less than 1 percent of the approximately 50,000 travelers screened at LAX today. All AIT opt-outs were screened and continued to their flights.
Charlotte: 18,000 passengers screened so far today, and estimated 24,000 will be screened by end of day. 1 AIT opt out today.
Cincinnati: The peak wait time was 10 minutes, and average is 5 minutes.
Chicago O’Hare: The longest wait was 15 minutes at one checkpoint, and has been under 10 minutes airport-wide for the most part.
Cleveland: Under 20 minutes for wait times all day, with a 10-minute average. Current wait times are less than 5 minutes. 0.66 percent opt out rate today.
Boston: Approximately 56,000 passengers screened with 300 AIT opt outs, which is less than 1 percent of all travelers and less than a normal day at the airport’s 17 AITs. All were screened and continued to their flights. The longest wait time all day was 12 minutes in terminal A in very early morning, and it was very short lived given all lanes were open.
Detroit: 25,000 passengers screened today, and 57 AIT opt-outs. All were screened and continued to their flights.
Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team