MSP Airport Hotel's Disputed Security Checkpoint to Reopen Friday
A new public security checkpoint between Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the MSP Intercontinental Hotel will reopen Friday after being closed this week by the Transportation Security Administration, which said the checkpoint was underused.
The checkpoint, which debuted last year, will now be open from 4:45 to 10 a.m. daily, according to a news release issued by the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which had expressed its displeasure with the TSA’s decision to close the checkpoint.
The MAC has agreed to reimburse the TSA for screening costs associated with the checkpoint through the TSA’s new Reimbursable Screening Service Pilot Program, which allows airports to cover the costs of staffing security checkpoints the TSA deems “non-primary,” the news release said.
MAC and TSA officials expect to finalize the terms of the reimbursement agreement within 90 days, according to the news release. The agreement will be revisited within 12 to 18 months to determine whether traffic through the checkpoint has increased enough that TSA will again assume responsibility for screening costs.
The MAC says the skyway connecting the hotel and the airport’s main terminal cost $24 million.
Hotel entrepreneur Jim Graves said earlier this week that the checkpoint was a key factor in building the Intercontinental so that guests would have quick access to boarding gates.
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