Airport Check-in: Boston to get screening security upgrade
— -- ROUTE NEWS
Boston Logan will spend $30 million to consolidate security checkpoints and add more lanes in Terminal C, a project aimed at speeding up passenger screening.
Terminal C, which houses United Airlines, JetBlue, Midwest Airlines and Cape Air, has two checkpoints with 10 lanes that process about 4 million passengers a year.
"During peak travel periods, the wait times can reach 30 minutes," Logan spokesman Richard Walsh says. The airport will add four security lanes and hopes to cut down the maximum wait time to 15 minutes.
Boston Logan also plans to link United's concourse to the gate areas used by JetBlue and other smaller carriers, which would let transferring passengers proceed directly to other airlines' gates in the terminal without exiting the secured area. Officials hope to finish the project by the end of 2010.
Once the project is completed, the existing checkpoint areas will be reorganized to accommodate more retail and food shops.
•A councilman in Kansas City has sponsored a resolution to begin privatizing Kansas City International. The Kansas City Star reports that the resolution from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was sent "without recommendation," which suggests that there isn't a lot of enthusiasm for the idea. The full council will vote later this week.
Privatizing the airport would bring an initial financial windfall, but the controlling public entity would relinquish operational control and future revenue.
Chicago's plan to privatize Midway has been stalled in recent weeks because of private investors' inability to secure sufficient funding.
ROUTE NEWS
•Southwest Airlines says its new service from Boston Logan will begin on Aug. 16. The discount carrier will offer 10 daily non-stop flights: five to Chicago Midway and five to Baltimore/Washington.
•AeroMexico is returning to New Orleans Louis Armstrong for the first time since ending service at the airport after Hurricane Katrina. Beginning July 6, the Mexican carrier will offer non-stops Monday through Saturday to Mexico City that will continue on to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. AeroMexico will use 50-seat regional jets.
•United began five-days-a-week service between Washington Dulles and Geneva on Sunday. Boeing 767 aircraft with flat-bed seats in first and business classes will be used on the route.
•Starting June 25, AirTran aai will begin service between Charleston, W.Va., and Orlando. The non-stop flight will operate three times a week: each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Also on June 25, the carrier will begin service between Lehigh Valley International Airport near Allentown, Pa., and both Orlando and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airports.
AirTran flights generally connect at its hub in Atlanta, but the new routes reflect the carrier's strategy to boost traffic to some of its popular, warm-weather destinations.
•Allegiant Air will add non-stop service between Eugene, Ore., and Oakland on June 8, with one flight each Monday and Friday.
STIMULUS WATCH
•Philadelphia International received $5 million in federal economic stimulus funds to help pay for a runway repaving project. President Obama's stimulus package calls for distributing $1.1 billion to airports for projects this year.
•Asheville (N.C.) Regional Airport will receive $7.5 million to renovate its terminal.
•Raleigh-Durham International will get $4.5 million to improve the lighting on its 10,000-foot runway.
Every Monday, we report on the latest news in airports across the USA. See something noteworthy in your travels? E-mail your suggestions to ryu@usatoday.com.