Family Travel Lanes Take Off in Time for Holiday Travel

If you have ever traveled during the holidays, you have possibly experienced more stress due to increased volume at airports and on the road. Or, if you have traveled with infants and young children, you can appreciate that it just takes more time to juggle the stroller, baby, diaper bag and other kid necessities, especially as the impatient person stands behind you with no luggage waiting to rush through security.

However, this holiday season, airline travelers might be pleasantly surprised with less wait time to pass through airport security for some and reduced stress for families trying to manage little hands and extra items. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), in time for this week’s Thanksgiving travel season, completed and unveiled its new family, expert and casual traveler lanes through security checkpoints in U.S. airports.

Less hassle in actual security lines coupled with an expected reduced amount of actual travelers will hopefully make holiday travels easier to navigate. Nearly 4.54 million (11 percent of holiday travelers) plan to travel by airplane, representing a 7.2 percent decrease from the 4.89 million travelers who flew last year, according to AAA.

Based on sample data released by the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the three busiest travel days surrounding Thanksgiving Day are expected to be Sunday, Nov. 30, Monday, Dec. 1, and Wednesday, Nov. 26, respectively. On these days, ATA projects that planes will be, on average, close to 90 percent full.

“Despite the expected decline in passengers this Thanksgiving holiday travel season – the first such decline in seven years – Thanksgiving remains the busiest travel time of the year for airlines,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “And make no mistake – the airports will be busy and many flights will be 100 percent full.”

Hoping to ease congestion, provide additional help to those who need it, and to decrease wait time, the newly unveiled lanes, part of TSA’s Diamond Self-Select program currently at 48 airports, allow families, individuals unfamiliar with air travel procedures and travelers with special needs to go through security at their own pace, as reported by TSA. Click here to watch the Black Diamond Self-Select video.

Individuals traveling with medically necessary liquids, gels and aerosols like baby formula, insulin, cough syrup, contact lens solution and prescription medications will undergo additional screening that will usually take less than two minutes to ensure these items do not pose a threat.

Just like a skier who sees the slopes marked with black diamonds for the “expert” to the green slope for the “beginner”, the security lines are now marked for “expert” travelers to those needing some more time to get through.

The introduction of lanes that will serve as both family lanes and dedicated lanes for passengers carrying medically necessary liquids strengthens TSA efforts to build a network of technology to detect liquid explosives, as reported in TSA’s release.

“Passengers have clearly demonstrated their preference to go at their own pace,” said TSA Administrator Kip Hawley. “Expanding these lanes to every airport and directing families and passengers with medically necessary liquids to them, increases passenger convenience and security.”

TSA has put together some tips to help people get through the screening process faster. Visit: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/screening_experience.shtm There is even a video demonstrating traveling with an infant available and special tips for this group of travelers: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/index.shtm