The Transportation Security Administration is advising travelers departing from Denver International Airport this week to pack their patience and be prepared for long security lines.
The federal agency is citing DIA’s layout — which doesn’t allow for enough screening lanes — as a potential culprit.
“Projected volume would require 37 security screening lanes. However, the (DIA) layout is physically limited to only 30 screening lanes with capacity for approximately 55,000 (departing) passengers per day,” a TSA bulletin stated.
DIA spokesman Heath Montgomery said he was unsure whether TSA officials have talked to airport officials about the layout concerns. He said a project that has been planned for years started picking up steam recently and might include moving security lines to the sixth floor by 2019.
“We are working collaboratively with TSA on a longer-term vision,” Montgomery said.
In April, the airport blamed TSA staffing for long lines.
DIA, the nation’s fifth-busiest airport, expects to set records between June and September, with early forecasts suggesting July could be the airport’s busiest month ever.
TSA forecasts that 57,000 to 63,500 passengers will pass through DIA security daily Sunday through Friday.
Montgomery said the numbers TSA uses represents just the number of people who will go through security, not the total number of people passing through the airport.
“Sunday we expect about 175,000 people through DIA,” he said.
Sixty-five percent of DIA’s traffic begins and ends in Denver, while 35 percent comes from connecting flights, according to the airport.
Officials expect the peak period each day to be from 4 to 9 a.m.
“TSA will open all available screening lanes, make maximum use of passenger screening canine teams, add staff through use of overtime, and use administrative and other personnel to handle nonsecurity-related functions,” according to the travel bulletin. “TSA will make the most of the assistance provided by our airline and airport partners.”
Since at least last year, DIA has been exploring moving TSA’s security checkpoints from Level 5 in the Jeppesen Terminal to create more space for restaurants and shops, which generate almost half of the airport’s operating revenue.
The airport also has considered reconfiguring airline counter and passenger-ticketing areas, according to project documents.
Because of missed flights and frustrated travelers, the TSA has been under pressure to address long screening lines since spring.
The agency said it has trimmed the wait times partly by adding more lanes, increasing staffing at peak periods and addressing staffing shortages.
The agency touted the busy Memorial Day weekend as a sign of progress, reporting that 99 percent of passengers at U.S. airports waited less than 30 minutes and 93 percent waited less than 15 minutes in regular security lines.
Officials suggest anyone traveling through DIA between Sunday and Friday should check with their airlines, and they should consider arriving at least two hours before the departure of domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
Officials also remind travelers that being prepared for the checkpoint — by having boarding passes out and removing laptops and liquids from carry-on baggage — helps to keep lines moving faster.
Montgomery said that, coincidentally, Sunday marks the first day that seven DIA contractors will be assisting TSA with “nonsecurity tasks” such as moving bins, guiding people through the lines and answering questions.
The seven security contractors will be working at DIA through Aug. 20.
