NATGEOTRAVEL.COMCheckpoint
of the Future
With a billion-dollar
renovation, Denver’s
airport is taking a new
approach to security
By Scott McCartneyT
wo trends have marked changes in air travel in recent years:
self-service and segregation into many different groups based
on fares, elite status, credit cards, and mobility needs. Now
much of the same is coming to the TSA checkpoint of the future.
When Denver International Airport, the fifth busiest in the United
States, decided to rebuild its main terminal, officials enlisted the
Transportation Security Administration early on in the process and
worked with the agency to design a new kind of screening checkpoint.
So many airport checkpoints have been crammed and cobbled into
space laid out for less-rigorous screening operations, resulting in
slower processing and longer lines.
In Denver, travelers currently go down one level from airline
check-in to a massive screening operation. The view from above can be
daunting as you ride the escalator down. Masses of people—the airport
services 61.4 million passengers yearly—look to the weary traveler’s
eye like an hour-long wait even though lines move significantly faster.UPGRADES
AIRPORTS
NATGEOTRAVEL.COMCheckpoint
of the Future
With a billion-dollar
renovation, Denver’s
airport is taking a new
approach to security
By Scott McCartneyT
wo trends have marked changes in air travel in recent years:
self-service and segregation into many different groups based
on fares, elite status, credit cards, and mobility needs. Now
much of the same is coming to the TSA checkpoint of the future.
When Denver International Airport, the fifth busiest in the United
States, decided to rebuild its main terminal, officials enlisted the
Transportation Security Administration early on in the process and
worked with the agency to design a new kind of screening checkpoint.
So many airport checkpoints have been crammed and cobbled into
space laid out for less-rigorous screening operations, resulting in
slower processing and longer lines.
In Denver, travelers currently go down one level from airline
check-in to a massive screening operation. The view from above can be
daunting as you ride the escalator down. Masses of people—the airport
services 61.4 million passengers yearly—look to the weary traveler’s
eye like an hour-long wait even though lines move significantly faster.UPGRADES
AIRPORTS