Nov 20, 2008 11:05 am US/Eastern
Airports To Open Family Lanes For Holiday Travel
TSA Approves New Measures To Help Parents, Children Navigate Checkpoints
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
There's a reason to give special thanks this Thanksgiving if you are taking off for the holidays next week. Starting Thursday, nearly every airport in the country will open special lanes for families to get through security, and that should make everyone's airport experience fly by.
Seasoned air travelers know the frustration all too well: getting stuck behind parents and their children at security checkpoints.
"I think someone who doesn't have kids would prefer us to be in another line," admits Corey Froom, traveling with her children.
So just in time for Thanksgiving, the Transportation Security Administration is opening up family lanes at almost every airport, CBS station WCBS-TV reported.
"They can take their time getting through security without the push of other passengers," says TSA spokesman Russell McCaffery.
And that's good news for passengers like Alicia Wagner who often travels with her two young daughters.
"I think it's great because then we don't have to feel so rushed and people aren't behind us getting angry, which is nice," says Wagner.
The family lanes may run slower than the other lanes, but in dozens of airports around the country they've got their perks. There are agents in place to help families navigate the lines and there's new equipment to screen baby formula larger than the allowable three ounces. There's even more space to get the kids organized before going through the magnetometers.
"We have seen a drop in the alarm rates at those locations because the families have additional time to make sure they have all the metal out of their pockets," says McCaffery.
And the new lanes aren't just for families, they're for anyone who wants to avoid the crush of fellow travelers with no time to spare. They're also reserved for anyone with medically-necessary liquids like prescription medication, cough syrup, or contact lens solution in excess of the three-ounce limit.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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