June 08--ST. LOUIS --Security lines at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport have grown so long during some peak travel times that the terminals can't contain them.
Lambert officials this week aired their frustration with peak-time backups at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints inside both of the airport's passenger terminals. Some lines at Terminal 2 -- which houses Southwest and AirTran -- have snaked outside the front door.
The issue of long lines is a particularly sensitive one for the airport and the airlines as they head into the busy summer travel season.
"The last few weeks in particular we have seen a number of delays with the lines that we haven't seen in a long time," Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge told airport commissioners on Wednesday.
During one busy morning last week, the line stretched from the C Concourse checkpoint to the airport offices on the opposite end of the public area of Terminal 1. Long security lines at Terminal 2 on Wednesday morning resulted in the delay issue reaching the airport's governing board.
The TSA said there is no one reason for long lines but that they stem from increased passenger and carry-on volumes seen during the summer.
Airport Commissioner Kathleen Osborn, executive director of the Regional Business Council, in St. Louis, told commissioners she considers the security-line delays "a serious issue." Because some travelers are not aware of how the security duties are delegated, they often blame the airport, Osborn said.
Hamm-Niebruegge said in an interview that she raised the issue of lengthy lines and seemingly inconsistent security lane staffing during a routine visit by TSA Administrator John Pistole earlier this year. At times, she told him, the lines were "not acceptable."
Some departing flights were delayed and some passengers missed flights as recently as this past week as a result of long lines, Hamm-Niebruegge said Friday.
In a prepared statement, the Transportation Security Administration said the "length of lines at security checkpoints vary by airport and travel season. A fluctuation in wait times can be seen especially during peak travel such as summer break."
Despite occasional fluctuations, the TSA said the average wait time in St. Louis remains less than 10 minutes. Still, the agency is taking steps to keep lines moving more efficiently, such as having officers remind passengers to toss out oversized containers of liquids or gels while in line rather than waiting until they reach the checkpoints.
The TSA adds that passenger volume has increased significantly through the Lambert checkpoints, and so have the number of bags that contain prohibited items.
Travelers have noticed the lines getting longer in recent months.
Attorney Jay Kanzler, of Clayton, said he found the security line had spilled out onto the sidewalk in front of Terminal 2 before catching a Southwest Airlines flight to Oakland, via Los Angeles, on May 20.
Kanzler and other travelers were able to use a separate lane designated for business travelers. Even then, he reached his flight just before the doors were about to close -- about five minutes after its scheduled departure time.
"I don't think it is particularly efficient at all," Kanzler said. "I think that the inconvenience, the things they do, the number of dollars spent, the man-hours, frankly, I think is way overdone."
Sandra Biego of House Springs said she and her family got to the airport 90 minutes early for a May 22 Southwest flight to Orlando. After standing in the security line, she and her family almost missed their flight.
"We literally had five minutes to spare and ran to our gates," she said in an email.
On Friday morning, the TSA had all security lanes open inside Terminal 2, and personnel were on hand directing travelers to the two separate checkpoints.
The lines were long, but they were moving. One traveler said it took 30 to 35 minutes to get from the back of one line through the Terminal 2 checkpoint.
"I haven't traveled in about five years and this is the longest I've ever seen it," said Southwest Airlines passenger Danielle Ryan, of St. Louis.
Ryan's business flight, to Orange County, Calif., was supposed to board within 45 minutes of her stepping into line.
Traveler Stephanie Mandernacht of Belleville said she knows to give herself ample time to account for security lines. She had 90 minutes before her 10:30 a.m. flight to Los Angeles was scheduled to leave.
"If you plan it right and you get here when you are supposed to, you should be fine," Mandernacht said. "I don't like to worry or stress so I try to get here as early as possible."
Preston Walker, of St. Louis, said he travels through Lambert at least once a month and the security lines generally move smoothly into the C Concourse but are a bit more congested at the A Concourse. Both of those checkpoints are in Terminal 1.
"It seems to me that the majority of the delays in the security line are caused by infrequent travelers who have too much stuff, too much liquid, and who seem to be panicked by the 'horrors' of putting a couple things on a conveyor and walking through a doorway that beeps," Walker said.
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