The holiday air travel forecast calls for more people, but better screening

A record 45.7m passengers are expected to fly on domestic airlines from Dec. 20 to Jan. 6. But unlike holiday seasons past, they are unlikely to be standing in nightmarishly long lines. “My hope is this Christmas will be a better, less stressful, more hassle-free airport screening experience than last year,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel industry analysis firm in San Francisco. Why? Better technology is one reason. The TSA has installed more effective equipment, like improved conveyor belts and 3-D scanning machines, which give screeners a better view of the contents of travelers’ carry-on bags. The airlines and airports are testing biometric screening of passengers’ passports or other photo IDs. The airlines are also adding more flights on some of their busiest routes or switching to bigger planes to meet demand during the period. And then, there are the dogs. The TSA is using more dogs trained to detect explosives. The dogs speed the security process because passengers have already been vetted for explosives by the time they reach the scanners. “They’re a very important layer of security,” an agency spokeswoman, Lisa Farbstein, said. Of course, bad weather could throw a wrench into all the plans. But airlines also have an answer for that — apps that they say will allow travellers to reschedule their flights more quickly than standing in line at the ticket counter. The result should be smoother travel.<br/>