Long TSA lines may not spell long wait times ahead of holiday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Airline passengers who travel through Charlotte Douglas International Airport have been asked to prepare for potential-record-setting summer travel as the Fourth of July week begins.

TSA reported that more than 47,500 passengers were screened by agents on June 22nd, which is the third-highest number of passengers ever at the airport.

Eclipsed by a mid-May record that is already at risk of being broken.

Charlotte is the seventh-largest airport in the world and is on an upward trajectory to only get busier as it adds more airline routes to other parts of the country and other parts of the world.

With that, however, have come longer lines at TSA checkpoints in an airport that have become difficult to navigate in the eyes of some passengers.

Charlotte Douglas International has been in a state of renovation for years, both inside and outside of the main building hub.

Passengers have told Queen City News they’ve either had difficulty parking or difficulty finding the correct lines to stand in at TSA.

They also expressed concerns about the lack of checkpoints open at any given time, leading to longer lines.

This has led to stories being shared online of two hours plus wait times.

On Monday, TSA Regional Liaison Daniel Velez put into context some of the concerns expressed by passengers.

“We rarely see times go over an hour,” he explained.

The TSA standard time is reportedly 30 minutes from the time someone steps into the TSA checkline.

It is reported by TSA that the standard is met, or nearly met, 95% of the time.

During a check of TSA lines on Monday, passengers were getting through TSA in that time frame.

When asked about some of the stories of longer wait times, Velez explained it could be for a variety of other reasons.

“I think sometimes those folks get a little bit confused,” he explained. “I think what they’re doing is they’re adding the time that they were checking their bag, and then getting in the line, waiting till they get all the way through the line.”

The longer wait times that do pop up, however, have also been linked to weather-related factors, which lead to those hour-long wait times.

“If there’s a weather issue the day before and those people didn’t fly . . . now all of a sudden they’re back at the airport the next day, and that isn’t something that we were expecting,” Velez explained.

Queen City News also asked for insight into the closure of checkpoints throughout the day that led to all passengers being checked in at one location.

Velez said that “the checkpoints are open and closed based on a collaboration between TSA, the airports, and the airlines . . . It all depends on the scheduling. Early in the morning, from 5 to 7 [a.m.] when it’s super busy, we’re going to have as many checkpoints and as many lanes open as we can. In the mid-afternoon, 1 [p.m.] , maybe you don’t see as many checkpoints open because there’s not as many planes that are taking off and not as many people flying.”

Small delays, however, have been linked to passengers being stopped by TSA for carrying illegal items.

TSA reported that 57 firearms had already been found by agents at Charlotte Douglas this year.

One was discovered Sunday before Queen City News spoke with Velez.

It was stressed that TSA is fully staffed at Charlotte Douglas ahead of the July 4th, holiday travel season.

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