Luggage Machines Take Screening Process From Snail Pace to Fast Clip, Airport CEO Says
Luggage Machines Take Screening Process From Snail Pace to Fast Clip, Airport CEO Says
ZACHARY ZOELLER | The Daily News
THE WORLD ON TIME: An airline passenger checks the arrivals and departures screens at Memphis International Airport. The airport recently received 11 new luggage scanning machines from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. -- With the holiday season in full swing, millions of Americans are traveling by road, rail and air to visit friends and family.
While the Wednesday before Thanksgiving traditionally is the busiest air travel day of the year with about 2 million people flying, Dec. 27 and New Year's Eve each see about 1.7 million in the air, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Generally, as more and more people pile into airports, lines get a little slower and waits get a little longer, testing the patience of travelers and airport personnel alike.
To increase security and expedite luggage screening, Memphis International Airport just got an early Christmas gift from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) - 11 new Reveal CT-80 luggage scanners.
"It gives us the latest and best explosive detection equipment that is currently available," said Larry Cox, CEO of Memphis International Airport.
Taking off
The machines were installed by the government agency in November, Cox said. They also will be operated and maintained by TSA employees, he said.
TSA began deploying the machines earlier this year after certifying the CT-80 in 2004 and testing it in 2005 at three airports: Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Gulfport, Miss., Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., and John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Airport Developments in Brief:* Memphis International Airport recently received 11 new luggage scanning machines from the Transportation Security Administration.* Machines are supposed to increase security and expedite the screening process.* The first phase of the airport's Cargo Central is complete, with 750,000 square feet of cargo carrier parking. It could add about $500,000 to the airport's monthly revenue. After the field testing concluded, TSA bought over 70 machines from the Bedford, Mass.-based Reveal Imaging Technologies Inc.
In addition to the three pilot airports, the first five machines were installed at Kansas City International Airport in June 2006. Memphis was among 18 other U.S. airports scheduled to receive the equipment this year.
Faster, Smarter
The CT-80 takes a computed tomography scan, or CT scan, of luggage to measure density and atomic structure of items inside.
While the technology will expedite the luggage scanning process, it will not replace physical searches, Cox said.
"Depending on what the computer says, it may trigger an alarm, in which case it will be human intervention on how best to treat that alarm," he said.While he declined to say how much time might be trimmed off of a traveler's wait, Cox maintained that the machines expedite the screening process.
"Throughput has increased and level of security has increased," he said. "It's faster than the processes before we had this equipment."'
A little uptick'
In addition to receiving some gifts, Memphis International Airport recently finished a large gift for its cargo carriers - 750,000 square feet of parking space on a new air cargo apron called Cargo Central.
Completed Dec. 3, the space was added to accommodate air cargo companies that don't already have space at the airport. FedEx has the most with about 13.6 million square feet. UPS is second with 387,827 square feet, with 159,324 square feet for all other carriers.
The new space can accommodate six wide-body aircraft, Cox said."Overall, it's just a little uptick, but for us it's significant because it's the first time we've developed anything for anyone other than FedEx or UPS," said Richard White, director of airport properties.
The airport could receive an additional $288,000 in aircraft parking revenue per month plus $213,000 in landing fees per month, White said. But compared to the $110 million it takes in per year for cargo operations, the expected new revenue is like a drop in the bucket, he said.
The new space cost about $12 million to build, and it drove the total acres of cargo carrier parking to 342 acres.
Loading and unloading
As demand increases, another 750,000 square feet of parking will be built, but no timetable is available for the construction right now. Construction has begun on the first 36,000-square-foot cargo building and is expected to be finished in 12 to 18 months, Cox said."Each building will be priced differently for what the demand level is," he said. "(The buildings) will house companies that needed to store and arrange cargo for loading onto airplanes and for unloading."