Lafayette Regional Airport has announced that travelers will have an additional security line at the existing terminal.
Travelers will see the new TSA line in the first quarter of 2020 in the existing terminal, about two years earlier than they would have had once the New LFT Terminal opens.
“The addition of a second security line at Lafayette Regional now will have a positive impact on travelers waiting in line for early morning flights,” says LFT Executive Director Steven Picou. “With first flights departing from Lafayette to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta all leaving within close proximity of each other, the volume of passengers processing through one security line has been an ongoing concern."
Passengers arrival times effected the decisionh to add a new line. Picou says that those who arrived between an hour and a half to two hours before their flights, usually have been able to make their originating flights however when they arrive less than 90 minutes before their departure time, their chance of missing their flight from Lafayette increases.
The new line, according to Picou, will have TSA screening equipment that will be transferred from New Orleans International Airport. TSA is also expected to hire additional personnel to assist Lafayette passengers. The construction needed to accommodate the second TSA line is estimated to cost around $150,000.
The airport is funding the project from current operational funds.
Lafayette Regional Airport says that when the New LFT Terminal is opened, projected to be in 2021, the new facility design calls for two TSA lines with the ability to add a third line.
“Some people may feel we could have waited until the new terminal is built to have a second TSA screening line,” says Paul Segura, Chairman of the Lafayette Airport Commission. “But if those people are among the hundreds leaving LFT to board flights in the early morning, I would be surprised. With TSA’s commitment of staffing and equipment, and the airport’s investment in the changes to the terminal layout necessary to facilitate the additional screening, I believe we will seriously reduce the risk of missed flights for passengers. This has been a major problem for many and the ability to join with TSA for a potential solution, in the view of airport commissioners, is worth every dollar spent.”
LFT says that the addition is possible through efforts of the administration of Lafayette Regional Airport and with support of the Lafayette Airport Commission(LAC) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
