The Transportation Security Administration is making a big fuss over its new Zip Lane screening line, which made its national debut yesterday in a trial run at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California.
Now, I’m one of those who never considered Bob Hope that funny. But this Zip Lane has the makings of being a gut-buster. It’s essentially an express lane for business travelers carting one very small bag, i.e. a brief case. The lane is open from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., — peak business travel time.
A TSA spokesman told KABC TV in Burbank that since there will be less bags for screeners to check, the line will move twice as fast as regular security. Uh-huh. I’ve traveled at those peak business times, and seen many corporate types with only a laptop bag in the regular lines. In fact, seldom do the regular lines move faster than early in the morning. So, the TSA is banking on less baggage to screen at times when there often is…less baggage to screen.
Still, the Zip Lane does not eliminate the procedures that really slow down lines: Shoes, belts and jackets still need to come off. Laptops still need to be pulled out.
Not surprisingly, few interviewed on KABC TV yesterday found much to praise about the express lane. “Well, so far it’s not very express,” one traveler, Dorothy Johnson, told the channel. “I’ve been waiting in line about half an hour.”
The TSA response? “When you’re talking a 15 minute wait at the security checkpoint and you save somebody five minutes, that’s a third of the time they don’t have to wait at the security checkpoint,” a spokesman told the channel.
Security officials admit the Zip Lane is not perfect, and they will be ironing out bugs in the coming months. But the TSA hopes that if it proves successful, express lanes can begin popping up at airports across the country.
But I have my doubts. I mean, how good a litmus test is Bob Hope Airport in Burbank? Let’s see them test this sucker at O’Hare.