Two new security screening lanes opened at Midway Airport on Tuesday.
The Transportation Security Administration is adding the lanes to cut wait times at Midway's only security checkpoint, which now has 13 lanes for passenger screening.
There's still one separate lane for airport employees and two for "selectees" -- passengers chosen to undergo secondary screening.
By next month, TSA plans to add four more passenger screening lanes, agency spokeswoman Lara Uselding said.
Passengers won't see the change when they first line up to have their boarding passes and IDs checked, but the screening area has been reconfigured with two additional X-ray machines and metal detectors that should facilitate shorter wait times, Uselding said.
More screening equipment and personnel may be needed when the rest of the new lanes open, but for now, checkpoint staffing won't increase, the TSA says.
GOAL: 10 MINUTES OR LESS
"During peak travel periods, we'll be able to bring in people on overtime or part-time staffers," Uselding said, adding that the new lanes might be closed when there isn't a strong need for the extra capacity.
Even so, the changes are expected to shave time off the passenger-screening process at Midway.
On a typical Tuesday afternoon, average wait times at the Midway checkpoint range from seven to 13 minutes, TSA data shows. The TSA sets a goal of less than 10 minutes.
Copyright 2005 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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