Homeland Security

Statement of Randall Walker, Director

Department of Aviation, Clark County, Nevada

Before the House Aviation Subcommittee

February 12, 2004

          Mr. Chairman, I thank you and your Subcommittee for this opportunity to discuss with you the passenger screening issues at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. Because Las Vegas is not a hub for one of the large network carriers, it may surprise some of you to learn that Las Vegas McCarran is the second busiest domestic Origin and Destination airport in the nation.  We process more passengers through our checkpoints than any airport except LAX. 

          As has been reported in the media, the long lines are back at our airport (see pictures).  This is problematic not only from a passenger satisfaction level but from a passenger security level as well.

          Everyone agrees that since the events of 9/11 the passenger experience at an airport has changed forever.  Increasing the level of security for baggage and passenger screening for air travel was essential, not only to protect the safety and security of our citizens and visitors, but to restore confidence in our air travel system.

          In October 2001, McCarran was the first major airport to see its traffic rebound.  That month our traffic was 82% of the previous October.  A system that had previously handled that level of passengers and more at a high degree of customer satisfaction nearly collapsed under the new procedures developed in response to 9/11.  Working with our airline partners and the FAA (pre TSA creation), we developed strategies, which complied with the new security rules but enhanced the processing experience to tolerable levels.  These strategies involved significant resources from the airport and our airline partners.

          With a 3.6% increase in passengers in 2003, Las Vegas McCarran's passenger levels are essentially back to the pre 9/11 levels (over 98%), the first major US airport to rebound to that level.  Because we are principally an O&D airport, almost all of our departing passengers must past through a security checkpoint. Once again we find ourselves with the unenviable task of working with our partners to develop strategies to balance the system to provide a safe and effective process for the traveling public.  As before, we hope what we learn and accomplish can be used by other airports to avoid the pain we are experiencing.

          Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee some have jokingly defined the acronym TSA as "Thousands Standing Around", referring to the federal employees.  At McCarran I can assure you this is not true.  Unfortunately, though, it can describe our passengers crammed in front of the security checkpoint at a peak time.  While the TSA's current Congressionally-mandated passenger protection mission begins when travelers reach the security checkpoint equipment, we suggest that the process can be improved if it is managed as a whole to prevent inadvertently shifting the would-be target from the airplane to the airport terminals themselves.

          Our airport staff has been analyzing reasons as to why the long lines have returned.  One issue we have learned is that in spite of all the public attention, even seasoned travelers are often not prepared upon arrival at the magnetometer and x-ray screening positions.  This past week we staffed, in the peak times, one or two airport employees and/or airline contract employees at each processing lane.  We encouraged and directed each passenger to get prepared before arriving to the screening point. We refer to the staff performing this task as "Front End Loaders" This process was extremely helpful and kept our lines to tolerable levels for our post super bowl travelers.

          What did we learn from this front end loading process?  We learned that the passengers are not getting prepared for the screening process as they should because they are confused as to the rules.  Do I have to take my shoes off?  Can I put my shoes in the same bin as my coat?  Do I need my boarding pass?  Do I need my ID?  Since the rules change from airport to airport, many passengers wait until they are told what to do before making the final preparations to enter the screening process.  Without the front end loaders, this load falls to the TSA employees behind the check point.  In Addition, without knowing the rules, passengers tend to use more bins than are required.  More bins mean more items screened per passenger equating to more wait time for everyone.

          Although front end loading has helped speed up the processing time, it does not account for all the increase in the wait times for our passengers.  Something in the process itself has increased the processing time since late last year.  I am sure that each procedure and any change in that procedure mandated by TSA is good for security when analyzed individually.  But the cumulative effect of all these procedures being applied at our airport is creating a new security problem:  thousands of passengers crammed into a small space.  It seems no one is examining the entire passenger processing experience with a goal of balancing the security of the entire passenger screening process.  The federal process is doing a good job of providing a secure system from the check point to the plane and from the plane to the next airport, but at the same time it is creating a new potential security problem on the front end of this process.

          Since September 11, 2001 Las Vegas has more than doubled the number of security checkpoint lanes: from 12 to 25, with the last three added in 2003.  We currently are constructing new floor space to expand that number by six to 31 lanes.  We have added our new Speed Check common use electronic check-in kiosks to help reduce the demand on the ticket counter.  We have added cameras to the check point areas.  We have developed automatic doors to seal areas of the terminal in the event of a breach to minimize the impact to already screened passengers.  All this was accomplished without any federal mandate or financial assistance.

          When our checkpoint lines ballooned in January we were perplexed as to the reason.  The number of check point lanes in 2003 grew by 10% more than our passengers.  When we analyzed the checkpoint through put, we found that the rate was approximately 20% less than the last time we did such an analysis in 2003.  This reduction in the through put rate has resulted in very long lines in our peak times, an issue which has been the subject of discussion by the media and on the frequent-flier internet discussion boards.

          The return of the long lines is a cause of frustration for the Las Vegas air traveler.  If the situation does not improve, many of our visitors may be discouraged from returning to our community.  This would be bad for the economic well being of our community and for the airlines as well.  But perhaps of equal concern is the unintended security consequence of these long lines:  creating an attractive target in front of the checkpoint lanes for someone looking for an opportunity to inflict catastrophic injury on a large number of people. If I could make one recommendation it would be for TSA to give Federal Security Directors (FSD's) at the individual airports, sufficient authority and flexibility to make decisions to manage the risks throughout the entire security screening process.

                   Thank-you for inviting me to testify before you today.  I look forward to responding to any questions you may have.