BWI & TSA Create Additional Screening Lane at Concourse D Checkpoint
Ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI Marshall) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) partnered to construct an additional screening lane at the security checkpoint for Concourse D. The new lane is now open. The new checkpoint lane creates further screening capacity for the TSA and helps reduce wait times for travelers.
“We continue to work in partnership with TSA to protect Marylanders and deliver good customer service at the same time by addressing the long security lines,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “Less time waiting in line gets travelers to their destinations quicker and in a better mood. Opening a new screening lane and offering passengers the PreCheck option will be key steps forward for Maryland’s new Customer Service Initiative.”
In a May letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh C. Johnson, Governor Hogan expressed his concern about the growing wait times at BWI Marshall’s TSA Checkpoints and reiterated his commitment to continue to partner with TSA to find solutions. Governor Hogan also discussed offering a convenient PreCheck Enrollment Center at BWI Marshall as top priority. Passengers with PreCheck have access to a dedicated security screening lane that allows them to move through the security process more quickly.
Key solutions are moving forward. In addition to opening the new screening lane this week, BWI Marshall officials and TSA are now working on the final plan for the PreCheck Enrollment Center. The PreCheck Center should be up and running later this summer. With the additional screening lane, the Concourse D security checkpoint now has six lanes to screen passengers and carry-on baggage. The work to create the new checkpoint lane was completed under a very aggressive schedule.
“The security of our travelers remains the highest priority,” said Ricky Smith, Chief Executive Officer for BWI Marshall. “We continue to work with the TSA and the airlines to identify measures to improve the travel experience. Our goal is to help our customers move through the airport quickly and efficiently. This new checkpoint screening lane will benefit our passengers.”
The added checkpoint lane is a short-term measure to help the screening process for BWI Marshall travelers at Concourse D. A new, larger, and more efficient checkpoint is currently being constructed as part of the overall D/E Connector Program. The new checkpoint with eight screening lanes will serve domestic and international passengers. The D/E security checkpoint is scheduled to be complete in late 2016.
During the peak summer travel season, BWI Marshall passengers are reminded to give themselves ample time to park, check-in with their airline, and go through the TSA security checkpoints. Wait-times for the checkpoints vary throughout the day. The TSA recommends that travelers arrive two hours ahead of domestic flights, and three hours for international flights.
BWI Marshall continues to set records for passenger traffic. 2015 was a new all-time annual record with nearly 24 million passengers. Growth has continued in 2016. Ten-straight monthly passenger records have been set at BWI Marshall.
