The quest to make airport security screening the happiest line on earth

Mint

2 days ago

Traveling families know that frequent fliers tense up when strollers wheel into the security screening checkpoints.
At some airports, toddler-toting parents are now getting their own line—and it may move faster.
The Transportation Security Administration this summer debuted the 'family lane," part of a broader Department of Homeland Security initiative that officials say is meant to make airport security screening less stressful for those traveling with kids 12 and under. (Being allowed to keep shoes on throughout screening can also help.)
Corralling a family through the snaking lines of bins and body scanners takes patience and mental fortitude, something the agency says it recognizes and wants to address, especially ahead of major events like the World Cup.
Eric Sokolaski and his wife Victoria, both 33 years old, recently spent hours enduring lines at Universal Orlando Resort with their 5- and 2-year-old sons. Checking in at Orlando International Airport, they braced for security, until an officer asked if they would rather try the family lane.
Bonus: There was no wait.
As their older son Vinny protested, Victoria poured out his juice at the dedicated liquid dumping station, promising more once they passed the screening area. A worker helped Eric arrange a bin for his laptop, iPad and phone. The family got through in under five minutes, with time to spare for a preflight juice run.
Compared with the lines at other airports, the screening lane was 'much faster, easier and more friendly," Eric says. While his kids have sometimes gotten antsy and tried to run off while waiting in other airports, he said, the Orlando officers helped keep their attention.
Here's what to know about the TSA's efforts to make security screening family-friendly—or at least not the worst line-waiting experience on your vacation.
The family lane is intended for people traveling with children 12 and under, and the whole family—grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings—is welcome to use it. That said, it isn't mandatory.
At the Orlando airport, toddler-toting parents were greeted by a smiling TSA officer, who said he also works at a theme park. 'Welcome to the family lane," he called out to approaching families.
The TSA's acting deputy administrator said Orlando made sense as an early location for the 'family lane' because it attracts many families.
If you've flown in the U.S., you're familiar with the big stack of gray plastic bins awaiting you at the screening checkpoint: pry one loose, dump your bags and keys and phone inside, push them onto the roller belt. Across the metal table, officers holler every 30 seconds or so to remove electronics from bags and take off belts.
In the family lane at the Orlando airport, TSA officers had bins already laid out, end to end. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with travelers, officers helped hold backpacks, bottles and iPads, arranged them in the bins and pushed strollers through the checkpoint while parents held on to their kids.
A liquid dumping station stands at the ready before the body scanner, guzzling water, milk and juice.
Orlando made sense as an early location for the initiative because of the number of families it attracts, said acting TSA deputy administrator Adam Stahl, who calls the city 'Disney World, USA."
Other airports offering the family lane: Charlotte, N.C.; Honolulu; Oklahoma City; Warwick, R.I.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Orange County, Calif.; Charleston, S.C.; and Carolina, Puerto Rico, which is near San Juan. Tampa, Fla., will get one later this month.
'It's really all about streamlining and modernizing the travel experience," Stahl says. There are plans to add family lanes to more airports in the coming months, he said, though they might not make sense for every airport across the country.
TSA officials say the 'family lane' helps keep other lanes clear of larger items such as strollers and car seats.Travelers in a 'family lane' at Orlando International Airport.
The TSA sees the family lane as a magnet for strollers, car seats, bottles, diaper wipes, iPads and stuffed animals, which can help decongest the other lanes, says Michael Silata, TSA's assistant federal security director in Orlando. On a recent Thursday afternoon, a stuffed tiger sat straight up in a bin as it moved toward the bag-scanning machine, like it was on its own amusement-park ride.
Other travelers are on board. Danielle Wann, the Florida-based owner of travel agency Epic Escapes Travel, says the unknowns of airport security can intimidate families flying with breast milk and babies on their hips.
She thinks a separate lane is great for families, but if airports are adding lanes, they might consider one solely for experienced travelers: 'Let's get a line for people that know what they're doing."
Family-lane users undergo standard TSA screening protocol, so it isn't the same as TSA PreCheck, the membership program that gives travelers access to a streamlined security process, where iPads loaded with Bluey episodes can stay in bags and jackets can be kept on.
And at least for now, there aren't family lanes in PreCheck.
While navigating the Orlando airport, Cleveland-area resident Divya Yogi-Morren chose to take her three children through PreCheck versus the family lane. Her 11- and 8-year-old sons loaded their 'Dog Man" luggage onto the belt, while her 4-year-old daughter rolled a Minnie Mouse bag.
'It's just easier to keep everything in the bags," Yogi-Morren says.
The TSA's 'Families on the Fly" initiative, which launched late last month, also includes discounts on TSA PreCheck memberships for families and dedicated PreCheck lanes for service members and their families.