The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has been telling travelers to expect longer lines at the airport this summer. Lines at security checkpoints have been longer than usual across the country, but not at Kansas City International Airport (MCI).
Why not? Certainly, size is a consideration. MCI is a mid-sized airport and not a hub like Chicago’s O’Hare airport. But there's more to it. According to The Chicago Tribune (emphasis added):
Private contractors also work well for certain types of airports—Kansas City, for example, has a terminal with multiple checkpoints, and workers can be shifted quickly depending on need, the [airport management consultant Steven] Baldwin report found. Neither San Francisco nor Kansas City has reported the lines seen at O'Hare and Midway.
This should not be surprising. Regular readers of this blog know that we’ve been impressed with private screening and the multi-terminal design for some time. And we suspect most people who fly share this view.
An expensive new terminal may be popular among Kansas City political leaders and their developer cronies, but it is unlikely to improve wait times, convenience, or safety.
