Gone through an airport lately? It might have taken two hours to get through security, or you might have sailed through in 10 minutes. The unpredictability is all part of the fun.
The fun can also include removing your shoes and belt, posing for a very revealing body scan and, if you’re really lucky, undergoing a pat-down that would make a proctologist blush.
It’s all in the name of safe flights, and no one is disputing the need for diligence. What’s in dispute is why it takes so long. You might blame the short-staffed Transportation Security Administration, or the lengthy screening process, or passengers such as the 51 nitwits who tried to carry loaded firearms onto planes in the U.S. last week.
Whatever the reason, airport security seems stuck in neutral while the rest of the flying experience zooms into the future. You can check in online, print your own boarding pass and check your luggage instantly, then watch all that time savings evaporate while you wait in the world’s longest line.
In our latest poll at HeraldNet.com, we asked how long of a wait is acceptable. With 68 percent of the vote, the runaway winner was a 30-minute wait or less. Getting through airport security should be faster than getting a pizza delivered to airport security.
Fourteen percent said screening should be instant, which isn’t as fanciful as it might seem. Future airports might feature quick scans of your eyes and fingers, but the trade-off is that our irises and fingerprints would be in a giant database. Fans of “1984” might not like that.
Only 4 percent said an hour or two is acceptable, and 14 percent said they’ll put up with whatever it takes to ensure safety. These are patient souls, but that’s the current approach and it isn’t working. Instead, it’s turning the airport into the Hotel California: such a lovely place, but you can never leave.
— Doug Parry, parryracer@gmail.com; @parryracer
Turning our attention away from the pain of airport lines to the pain of taxes and traffic, we want to know what you think about the latest Tim Eyman initiative.
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