Opt Out Turns Into Opt In

What some protesters threatened as an opt out day has turned into a TSA appreciation day.

As reports continue to come with normal or below-normal wait times, this will be our final update of this post today.

Though volume was around expected levels, our preparations for today kept wait times at such a minimum that some airports are closing screening lanes due to a lack of passenger throughput.

In addition to our operational updates from the field, we’ve rounded up news coverage from across the country about today’s airport travel experience:

The Dallas Morning News: TSA "outrage": There's no "there" there

New York Times: Travelers’ Reports: Better Than Expected

Washington Post: Airport travel starts smoothly, with no sign of delays from scanner protests

CNN: Opt-outs largely no-shows at airports

Reuters: "Don't touch my junk" airport patdown protests fizzle

Denver Post: DIA: Smooth day at Denver airport

Boston Herald: Terrorism risks trivialized by media

Bloomberg: New York, Chicago Airports Report No Scanner Logjams

Philadelphia Inquirer: Smooth traveling at airport

Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Pittsburgh travelers unfazed by new pat-downs, scanners

NYDN: Thanksgiving travelers opt out of National Opt-Out Day protest, TSA says no delays over body scans

Mercury News: So far, no delays due to security procedures or protests at Oakland International

The Plain Dealer: Smooth, protest-free traffic at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

CBS: Airport Scanners and 12 Must-Know Radiation "Risks"

Baltimore Sun: BWI traffic moves briskly despite plans for protest

Gizmodo: National Opt-Out Day Is A Bust, Says TSA

Albany Times Union: Lines move smoothly at Albany Int'l Airport, rail, bus stations

KC Star: Passengers moving smoothly through airports

Wired: Air Travelers Opting Out of Opting Out

Seattle King 5 News: Sea-Tac Airport lines move smoothly despite threat of protest

The Dallas Morning News: Security lines moving smoothly at D/FW Airport

Indy Star: Passengers not fussing at Indy airport checkpoints

SF Chron: Smooth sailing at Bay Area airports

Star Ledger: Sen. Robert Menendez says he supports use of full-body scanners, pat-downs

Toronto Star: Travellers opt out of Opt-Out Day

Richmond Times Dispatch: RIC passengers move smoothly through security

USA Today: Fliers facing minimal airport delays, despite protest threats

LA Times: No unusual airport screening delays seen yet, but officials brace for possible 'opt out' protests

Chicago Sun Times:  Despite security, few delays at O'Hare--so far 

AP: Airport lines move smoothly despite warnings

Orlando Sentinel: Big crowds, but small lines, at Orlando International Airport today

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: No crowds, protests at Hartsfield

FOX: Many Opting Out of “National Opt Out Day”

Dayton Daily News: Dayton airport lines moving quickly; no delays reported

Additional Recent Clips, Op-Eds and Editorials

The Daily Beast: The Media's Pat-Down Frenzy

New York Times: Politicizing Airport Security

Washington Post: Don't Touch My Junk? Grow Up, America.

NYDN: Mayor Bloomberg To Passengers Outraged By Intrusive TSA Checks: Get Over It, It's To 'Keep You Safe'

USAT: Airports Say Security Checks Going Smoothly

USAT: Pistole: Why We Need TSA's Security Measures

Operational Updates as of 5 p.m. EST:

Dallas/Fort Worth: One Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) opt-out today, and wait times consistently under 12 minutes.

Dallas Love Field: Wait times under 3 minutes.

Salt Lake City: Wait times no more than 5 minutes at both checkpoints one and two; when open, checkpoint 3 has a 2-minute wait time. Across the airport, we have all lanes open and 6 AITs in operation.

Atlanta: 39 total AIT opt outs today (again, out of 47,000 fliers). All were screened and continued to their flights.

Newark: Average wait times today by terminal were 6 minutes for A and C, 11 minutes for B.

New Orleans: The longest reported wait time was approximately 13 minutes. Six passengers opted out of AIT screening. All were screened and continued to their flights.

Iowa and Kansas: No disruptions, no wait times greater than 10 minutes. According to federal security director, lots of passenger compliments.

Denver: Current wait times are 3-4 minutes per checkpoint.

Colorado Springs: 5-minute average wait time, and no AIT opt-outs.

Minneapolis: Wait times are currently 5-10 mins. No incidents.

Detroit: No wait time over 20 minutes all day.

Green Bay: Wait time is 3 minutes.

Indianapolis: 24-minute peak this morning at 6 a.m. Nothing near since.

Louisville: 5-10 minute wait times.

Los Angeles: Los Angeles: 113 AIT opt outs across LAX’s 8 terminals, which is less than 1 percent of the approximately 50,000 travelers screened at LAX today. All AIT opt-outs were screened and continued to their flights.

Charlotte: 18,000 passengers screened so far today, and estimated 24,000 will be screened by end of day. 1 AIT opt out today.

Cincinnati: The peak wait time was 10 minutes, and average is 5 minutes.

Chicago O’Hare: The longest wait was 15 minutes at one checkpoint, and has been under 10 minutes airport-wide for the most part.

Cleveland: Under 20 minutes for wait times all day, with a 10-minute average. Current wait times are less than 5 minutes. 0.66 percent opt out rate today.

Boston: Approximately 56,000 passengers screened with 300 AIT opt outs, which is less than 1 percent of all travelers and less than a normal day at the airport’s 17 AITs. All were screened and continued to their flights. The longest wait time all day was 12 minutes in terminal A in very early morning, and it was very short lived given all lanes were open.

Detroit: 25,000 passengers screened today, and 57 AIT opt-outs. All were screened and continued to their flights.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

Airport Travel Time Status Updates for 11/24/2010

Stay tuned as this post will be updated throughout the day. We hope you find the information useful.

This picture was taken earlier today at CVG.

Operational Updates as of 5 p.m. EST: (Final Report)

Dallas/Fort Worth: One Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) opt-out today, and wait times consistently under 12 minutes.

Dallas Love Field: Wait times under 3 minutes.

Salt Lake City: Wait times no more than 5 minutes at both checkpoints one and two; when open, checkpoint 3 has a 2-minute wait time. Across the airport, we have all lanes open and 6 AITs in operation.

Atlanta: 39 total AIT opt outs today (again, out of 47,000 fliers). All were screened and continued to their flights.

Newark: Average wait times today by terminal were 6 minutes for A and C, 11 minutes for B.

New Orleans: The longest reported wait time was approximately 13 minutes. Six passengers opted out of AIT screening. All were screened and continued to their flights.

Iowa and Kansas: No disruptions, no wait times greater than 10 minutes. According to federal security director, lots of passenger compliments.

Denver: Current wait times are 3-4 minutes per checkpoint.

Colorado Springs: 5-minute average wait time, and no AIT opt-outs.

Minneapolis: Wait times are currently 5-10 mins. No incidents.

Detroit: No wait time over 20 minutes all day.

Green Bay: Wait time is 3 minutes.

Indianapolis: 24-minute peak this morning at 6 a.m. Nothing near since.

Louisville: 5-10 minute wait times.

Los Angeles: Los Angeles: 113 AIT opt outs across LAX’s 8 terminals, which is less than 1 percent of the approximately 50,000 travelers screened at LAX today. All AIT opt-outs were screened and continued to their flights.

Charlotte: 18,000 passengers screened so far today, and estimated 24,000 will be screened by end of day. 1 AIT opt out today.

Cincinnati: The peak wait time was 10 minutes, and average is 5 minutes.

Chicago O’Hare: The longest wait was 15 minutes at one checkpoint, and has been under 10 minutes airport-wide for the most part.

Cleveland: Under 20 minutes for wait times all day, with a 10-minute average. Current wait times are less than 5 minutes. 0.66 percent opt out rate today.

Boston: Approximately 56,000 passengers screened with 300 AIT opt outs, which is less than 1 percent of all travelers and less than a normal day at the airport’s 17 AITs. All were screened and continued to their flights. The longest wait time all day was 12 minutes in terminal A in very early morning, and it was very short lived given all lanes were open.

Detroit: 25,000 passengers screened today, and 57 AIT opt-outs. All were screened and continued to their flights.

As of 3 p.m. EST:

We’re receiving reports of minimal wait times across the entire country – from Honolulu to Myrtle Beach and everywhere in between – and no disruptions.

Cincinnati: Nearly 5,500 passengers had been screened as of 12:30, 15 of whom opted out of AIT. All were screened and continued to their flights.

Denver: Walk-up service (virtually no wait times).

St. Louis: Wait times are less than 10 minutes, and seven passengers have opted for pat-down instead of AIT over the course of the day. All were screened and continued to their flights.

Miami: Some checkpoints have no lines at all.

Memphis: Wait times of 5 minutes or less, and five AIT opt-outs.

As of 12:30 EST:

Atlanta: Current wait time is 5 minutes, and AIT opt outs total 26 for the day so far, out of an estimated 47,000 passengers to be screened today (not including incoming international).

Seattle: Wait times below normal levels.

Wait times at all airports in the northwest and Rocky Mountain regions remain at or below normal levels.

Burbank, CA: We measured the wait times at one of our checkpoints vs. the coffee shop just inside the terminal past the checkpoint…the coffee shop took longer than the checkpoint. 

As of 10:30 a.m. EST:

Miami: No AIT opt outs.

Burlington, VT: Following a pat-down, one passenger commented, “That’s it? That’s all there is to it?  Why is the media making such a big deal?   I’ve received more invasive pat downs just going to a rock concert.”

As of 10 a.m. EST:

Boston: Highest wait time was 12 minutes, and that was short-lived.  Many, many compliments and few AIT opt outs.

Buffalo: No significant wait times. The longest wait time might have been 10 minutes this morning.

Bradley: Minimal wait times and no AIT opt outs

Phoenix, LAX and San Diego remain normal.

As of 9:30 a.m. EST:

Minneapolis/St. Paul: No problems, lots of passenger compliments, waits around 10 minutes.

Newark: No problems at EWR. More TSOs than passengers right now. Wait times minimal. There was a 25-minute wait time at B1 at 0430 right when the checkpoint opened, but whittled it down quickly.

LaGuardia: Very few AIT opt outs. No passengers opting out of a pat down. Wait times are very low. During the morning rush we had wait times of 15 minutes at two checkpoints.

Manchester, NH: No waits. Very positive passenger feedback. Here since 0500 with no issues.

San Francisco: No issues.

Albany: less than 30 minutes at all ALB lanes, no disruptions.

Portland, Maine: less than 15-minute waits, no issues.

Harrisburg, PA: Wait time is about 5 minutes, no long lines and passengers have been very supportive. 

No problems and minimal wait times at Kansas City (MCI), Wichita (ICT), Des Moines (DSM) and Omaha (OMA).

Phoenix: Normal operations.

Live shots on local TV at SLC show no lines at checkpoint.

Richmond: Wait times are under 10 minutes, no AIT opt outs, lots of thank yous.

Norfolk: Wait times under 7 minutes.

Reagan (DCA): Wait times are basically 0.

BWI: No waits, only 4 AIT opt outs.

LAX: Less than 5-minute waits.

Denver: Had 39-minute waits at 5 am, but now we're under 20 minutes. No protests yet; no one has opted out of AIT.

From Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma: Busiest checkpoint is less than 10 minutes' wait, rest are 3-5 minutes. 

Tampa: All wait times have remained under 20 minutes. No disruptions.

St. Louis: Highest wait time was 17 minutes early on for short period, but now about 5 minutes.

Blogger Bob

 

TSA Blog Team

Administrator Pistole Reaches Out to Passenger for Pat-down Mishap at DTW

*** Update 1/27/2011 Readout of Special Counselor Kimberly Walton’s Participation in a Meeting with Thomas Sawyer and Advocacy Organizations ***

Administrator Pistole has reached out to the gentleman whose urostomy bag leaked during secondary screening at DTW. The Administrator promised to look into the incident. We’re reviewing the training that’s already being provided to our officers to see if needs to be updated. When our officers are hired, they are given extensive training on screening passengers with disabilities and they continue to receive recurring training throughout their career. TSA has established a coalition of over 70 disability-related groups and organizations to help us understand the concerns of persons with disabilities and medical conditions. These groups have assisted TSA with integrating the unique needs of persons with disabilities into our airport operations.

Also, keep in mind that passengers with disabilities can contact one of our Customer Support Managers to coordinate their screening. This way, they can have a chance to speak with an expert and explain the best possible way to be screened prior to arriving at the airport.

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team