The ongoing relationship we have with the lines at the airport might be over; we understand the lines are so long because TSA cares for our safety, but we hate them because who wants to stand in line any day?
As if the airport lines can't get lengthier and slower, starting on September 15th, the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) will start allowing people who aren't flying, to get passed security using what will be know as the myPITpass (Estein). Whether it's to accompany a loved one right to the second they get on a flight, or enjoy some of the restaurants and shopping centers inside the airport, like Marathon Diner, TGI Fridays, Starbucks, Brooks Brothers, and Pandora Jewelry (Pittsburgh), anyone with a passport or state ID can board complimentary.
Yes- they go through boarding procedures for safety like everyone else but, don't consider Pittsburgh International Airport is going to hire additional staff, like TSA, do to the increase in clients (Estein). This is because Christina Cassotis, the chief executive of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which oversees PIT, believes "An extra 1,000 people there doesn’t make it feel crowded”; Cassotis must fly private.
So now, you have to wait behind a family of five who's not flying, just to get past TSA and on your important flight (let's hope you're not running late). The more the merrier, or the more-the more crying babies?
Being that the allowance of non-flyers to board is happening for the first time since September 11, 2001 (Estien), it raises several flags as to why start something up again we were, and are still, trying to avoid. However, Cassotis claims this has been one of the top five requests she gets any time she has given a speech, and she agrees (Estien). She believes this decision will give “a return to the good old days, before 9/11, when anyone could show up with flowers to pick someone up from the gate".
While the rest of us, implode screaming "safety and efficiency over flowers"!
Although there has been no recent airport crisis's- there is a reason why it has been 16 years with out a myPITpass. The number of the few that are suspicious and get passed TSA, could climb- which shines a light more on this increasing an issue with our safety, besides the longer lines soon to come. But, “for the time being, there are no plans to offer this at other airports.” said TSA spokesperson Michael England; good luck Pittsburgh- keep that over there.
Work Cited:
Ekstein, Nikki. “At Pittsburgh Airport, No Need For a Ticket to Get Past Security.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 29 Aug. 2017, www.bloomberg.com, Accessed 12 Sept. 2017.
“Pittsburgh PIT Airport Restaurants, Shops & Stores.” Ifly.com, www.ifly.com. Accessed 14 Sept. 2017.
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