Dallas

Flying for Spring Break Friday? Leave Early

Passengers report long waits at Dallas Love Field security line

If you plan to fly during spring break expect lengthy airport security lines, especially Friday.

Passengers at Dallas Love Field Airport claimed it took them nearly two hours to get through security Thursday.

Yisroel Blitz flies out of Love Field twice a week for work. Until Thursday morning he had never seen the line to go through security so long, and moving so slow.

"This morning was just incredibly packed. This (security line) was full, all the rows here including all the way back in this section," he said, pointing to the large open area between the ticket counters and security.

Blitz is a pre-screened passenger, so he breezed through security. Other people were not as fortunate and missed their flights.

"Usually you hear them calling one or two passengers, but certain flights were calling eight to 10 passengers, telling them last chance to be able to get on the plane," Blitz said.

Some passengers reported waiting nearly two hours to get through security Thursday morning, but a TSA spokeswoman said the longest recorded wait time at Dallas Love Field was only 37 minutes. It was unclear what was causing the delay, but many passengers were frustrated by the sight of unmanned TSA screening stations.

"I did wonder why the (security) gates were closed," said Dave Rice. "This (line) is a lot longer than Oakland or San Francisco or San Jose."

March is a busy travel season, as students in school districts across North Texas travel for their Spring Break. Lauren Jupina thought she was smart by traveling on Thursday instead of Friday.

When she got into the security line she quickly realized all that planning was for naught.

"I thought the lines would be shorter. I thought I was beating the crowd by leaving on Thursday, but I don't think I am," she said, trudging through the line.

With more than 19,000 reservation booked for Friday, the airport is activating its "Double the Love" plan and will have extra staff to help travelers make it to their gates on time. Passengers are asked to get to the airport at least two hours before their flight is scheduled to leave.

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