Changes speed up boardings

There's good news for passengers flying out of Pittsburgh International. Several recent changes seem to be easing the long backups at security that had often formed during peak travel periods.

The biggest factor is the four auxiliary security lanes that have been installed in Gate E, the former commuter terminal. The lanes are accessed from the upper or ticketing level in the Landside terminal. Leave the terminal, cross the street and walk down the long hall to the checkpoints, which operate exactly as the main security check points on the transit level of the terminal. Once passengers clear security, they take an escalator down to the transit train platform. Airport ambassadors are stationed on the ticketing level during peak traffic hours to direct passengers to the auxiliary checkpoints, but if you arrive at the airport and find lines at the main security entrance, know there is an alternative. The auxiliary security will require extra steps but will definitely save time rather than standing in a long line.

The second improvement came when the Transportation Security Administration revised its list of items banned from carry-on luggage. X-ray inspectors are no longer searching for things like nail files, knitting needles, small tools and other relatively innocent metal objects, which had comprised the vast bulk of confiscated items. That speeds up the passenger flow. Smokers will be glad to learn they also can bring up to four books of paper matches on the plane.

Finally, Pittsburgh International has become one of 24 airports now equipped with walkthrough trace portals as part of its security procedure.

Known more familiarly as "puffer machines," the devices may remind many of a shower stall or coin-operated photo kiosk. As passengers step into the open booth, a shower of tiny air bursts dislodge particles as tiny as one billionth of a gram from their skin and clothing. These particles are then "sniffed" up and analyzed for any trace of explosives. After 17 seconds, a friendly, computerized voice says to exit the portal, assuming, of course, that no offending traces have been detected. A security administration officer is standing by to assist, as well as take appropriate steps to resolve any alarm.

Pittsburgh International has two trace portals, one at the main security checkpoint, the other at the auxiliary lanes. According to TSA directives, not all passengers will get sniffed. Only those selected for secondary screenings, either before or after they've put their carry-on belongings through the X-ray machine and passed through the metal detector, will be asked to step inside the booth.

Still the portals do ease the need and incidence for full-body pat-downs of passengers, which also speeds up the process. Too bad the detectors are not sensitive to body odor or bad cologne, which to my experience are found far more commonly on airplanes than explosives and terrorist devices.

At any rate, these improvements are alleviating some of the pre-trip anxiety of flying out of Pittsburgh International, and that's good news no matter how you look at it.