For months travelers have been warned about long airport security lines, but this holiday weekend, American Airlines will have some extra hands in place to help move things along at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
D/FW Airport leaders say things never got as bad here as they did at some of airports on the coasts and in Chicago. But we're heading into the 4th of July, a busy holiday weekend that really kicks off summer travel. So now is the test to keep things running smoothly, and some private contractors in bright yellow shirts are one key to making it happen.
There’s a phone pressed to your ear, a car seat in hand and two tired little ones trailing behind. What a wonderful way to kick off a holiday week.
“Getting them all, are we going to have to do shoes? Oftentimes we have strollers, is it going to have to go through?” said Erica Carney, describing her airport experience with two young kids.
The Carneys and the Bethancourts are the kinds of travelers airports see a lot more of during holiday weekends.
“When you have four boys, seven and under, it always creates challenges going through airport security lines,” said Phillip Bethancourt.
Dealing with those challenges can really slow things down. That’s where those yellow-shirted private contractors travelers may see at to their D/FW security lines come in. American Airlines is footing the bill.
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“Ultimately which helps our customers get through the lines quicker and more efficiently,” said American Airlines Spokesman Ross Feinstein.
The contractors are from the crowd-management company CSC. They normally work big football games or concerts.
“For handling crowds and getting lines down, I suppose they might be the right people to consult, security-wise, I don’t know if that relates,” said Carney.
But American is quick to say the contractors are not replacing Transportation Security Administration staff.
“These individuals are not doing any screening functions at all,” said Feinstein. “They are the individuals that are moving a bin from the back of the checkpoint to the front of the checkpoint, they’re reminding passengers to remove their shoes if they’re in a non-TSA pre-check lane, remove their laptop, liquids and aerosols.”
Handing off those tasks frees up TSA screeners to focus on their real jobs, getting you to your holiday plans safer, and maybe even faster.
“Whatever it takes to get the job done,” said Bethancourt.
American Airlines says the extra contractors are just a temporary solution, so they are working with the TSA to try to get some more advanced technology in place that will screen faster.
D/FW airport also looking to put some new technology in place shortly to help you travelers find the checkpoints with the shortest lines.
For now, the best defense is to give yourself plenty of time, arriving at least two hours before your flight.
