Zorak

I thought the FlyDelta app still mentions Lindbergh although maybe it says "Terminal 1 - Lindbergh" or something like that. Or I could just be hallucinating.

MSPeconomist

I just looked and one version of the app doesn't seem to even suggest that there's more than one terminal at MSP, either on my itineraries or the airport map. The other version says Terminal 1 on my itineraries.

Zorak

I think it was in the gate info when arriving/connecting on the day of travel, not in upcoming itineraries.

MSPeconomist

OK I'll try to remember to look for this the next time I do OLCI.

MSPeconomist

Lovely....janitors are striking tonight at MSP, apparently on the sidewalk outside the departures check in area of Terminal 1. They want everyone, including part time workers, to get a minimum wage of at least $15 per hour plus benefits, including 401K contributions.

This was apparently organized by the major union (SEIU) to which many janitors and office cleaning staff belong in the Twin Cities. Strikes and picketing was scheduled for downtown Minneapolis at the USBank building (I think the one on Nicollet Mall near 9th Street, but Nicollet is essentially closed to vehicle traffic for renovation for the next year or so) and at the Securian Building in St Paul.

fti

That would have worked until Spirit moved to the "full service terminal"

CarmenOM

And Frontier. They open their check-in counter a couple of hours before a flight, then close it so the same staff can go airside to manage the gate.

fti

Frontier was in Terminal 1 long before they became a low cost carrier, but true.

CarmenOM

Since this thread has already wandered off-topic, I'll throw in the news that eight new restaurant will be added at MSP in the coming weeks/months (I don't know the timelines), including four local establishments: Lake Wine and Cheese, Salty Tart, Holy Land, and Red Cow. The last three will be part of a food truck concept located on the concourse E food court.

MSPeconomist

DL does this at a lot of outstations. I once saw a half dozen people arrive for a mainline flight at SYR well before the deadline for checked bags and be unable to take their flight because the counter was closed as DL staff had already left to go to the gate.

MSPeconomist

WARNING: If you're flying to/from MSP, allow extra time for traffic disruptions. The striking janitors are trying to close down roads, including major expressways in the metro area. This morning was supposedly bad for commuters.

ADDED: One expressway was reported to be a parking lot for over an hour this morning.

The strikers were parading downtown, blocking off streets and intersections. It would have been impossible to access certain downtown hotels by taxi while this was happening.

MSP_Monopoly

Does anyone have any updates from today (Thursday) on how things are going at the new TSA checkpoints?

flyerCO

I remember, CO used to handle ground operations for Frontier at MSP. If you couldn't find a CO GA you just went over to the Frontier gate and they were there.

lucycan

I'm flying to AMS tomorrow night. I plan on arriving at least 2 hours early to avoid any delays. I am TSA pre.

CarmenOM

I was at MSP from 12-8 today. The volume of passengers was high today with similar projections for tomorrow. I think the new checkpoint is running more smoothly than earlier in the week, but it's still a work in progress. The lines at North Checkpoint were not long most of the afternoon and evening, perhaps because some passengers haven't figured out it's there. Checkpoint 6 seemed to have more traffic than usual because many pax approach Checkpoint 2, see that it is closed, and then immediately head to CP 6, not noticing the gigantic lighted board for North CP. Also, some pax get down near North CP, see the PreCheck signs there, and think it's only for PreCheck. So they also trek to CP 6. Some of the PreCheck belts had been moved from CP 4 to North CP, so lines at 4 were longer than usual.

In addition to projected high numbers of travelers, here are some other points to be aware of for tomorrow:

1) PreCheck at Checkpoint 4 was dismantled and closed permanently tonight. Tomorrow the ONLY PreCheck entry will be at North Checkpoint. In another day or two CP 6 (soon to be South CP) will also have PreCheck, but not tomorrow. Plan accordingly if you have PreCheck but will fly out of F or G.

2) North Checkpoint now has three entry categories, from left to right: PreCheck, "regular" passengers, all-airlines premier passengers (including DL silver).

3) Until April 17 North Checkpoint will close at 7pm and stop accepting pax at 6:45. This means an increase in traffic at CP 6 at that time. This is not new as the schedule for CP 2 was the same.

4) CP 6 still has a SkyPriority entry. While supposedly both checkpoints will at some point have all-airline premier lines, this does not seem to have been relayed to Delta agents yet.

If there is such a change in the premier lines I don't see this having much impact on Delta SkyPriority pax. The other airline elites would have to walk the length of the terminal to CP 6 and then back again airside to reach the E concourse. The premium line at North CP would have to be really long to warrant that.

I'll be at MSP again tomorrow from 8-12 and will report back if there's anything further to add to the above.