Redesign Could Cut Wait Times at Logan
$30m project moves Terminal C security
Erin Ailworth, Boston Globe, 4/17/2009 (excerpted)
The Massachusetts Port Authority yesterday approved a $30 million project to consolidate security checkpoints in Terminal C at Logan International Airport - a move that officials say could help travelers more quickly connect to other flights and eliminate the need for additional screening.
Last year, 3.9 million outbound travelers moved through Terminal C, which was built in the 1960s and houses United Airlines, JetBlue, Midwest, and Cape Air. According to Edward C. Freni, Massport's aviation director, 30 percent of the passenger traffic at Logan moves through the terminal, and sometimes passengers wait up to 30 minutes in checkpoint lines.
"That's unacceptable," Freni said. "In fact, 15 minutes is what we consider [the maximum] tolerable as an airport operator."
Currently, passengers who change airlines for another flight must go through a security checkpoint again. After the project is complete, most transfer passengers arriving in Terminal C would be able to reach the gate area for another airline there without going through security.
Work on the consolidated check point is expected to begin this fall and would take about a year to complete. The new checkpoint will be located behind the JetBlue check-in counters and will have 14 lanes for travelers - four more than currently available among the existing checkpoints found at each end of the terminal. The project will also involve the construction of a corridor that would link the United Airlines and JetBlue gate areas after the checkpoint.
Once the central checkpoint is completed, the existing smaller checkpoints will be dismantled, making more space for travelers and for retail and concession venues. Entrances to many venues will be rearranged so travelers will only be able to enter them after they have gone through security.