Originally Posted by
RaflW
MAC members and guests have entered via the employee security line, and I don't think that would have changed today, so they can easily turn a blind eye (but I don't think they will).
But seriously, things should improve pretty quickly. As OP said, equipment from the old lines has to be moved over, and kinks worked out. Sucks for travellers this week, but it should not automatically mean that some weeks down the road things won't be decently smooth.
If it's still a mess in 30-45 days (though then that is peak Spring Break time, so a tough period anyway...), then perhaps they've made a serious mistake in this consolidated TSA scheme.
RaflW expresses a reasonable view of today's situation. The equipment from the old checkpoints is being moved every night this week. North Checkpoint will not have its full complement of lanes until Friday; there are fewer lanes and lower capacity until then. Some aspects of the reconfiguration will not be completed until even later than that (e.g., PreCheck will not be available at South Checkpoint/Checkpoint 6 until a day or two after Checkpoint 4 has closed).
I spent about 8 hours in the ticketing area today --- not stuck in a security line, but as a travelers assistance volunteer helping with this transition! It was pretty wild. Here are some observations and further information from the day:
The volume of passengers in the morning was high, perhaps because of the long weekend.
Many pax had heard or read in the news media about the changes but, despite the HUGE lighted sign saying North Security Checkpoint, still had trouble locating the new entrance, which is a bit to the right of the sign. They would get almost there and then turn around. This confusion was compounded by some of the contract staff at the other security lines directing pax to "Checkpoint 1" instead of the new designation on the signage.
The special line for those with both SkyPriority and PreCheck closed around midday today; I do not expect it will reopen.
The all-airline elite line is now open at North Checkpoint. The SkyPriority line at checkpoint 6 is still operational; I don't know when (if?) that will change to an all-airline elite line.
PreCheck info:
On Thursday 2/18 there will be 2 lanes of PreCheck at Checkpoint 4 and two lanes of PreCheck at North Checkpoint.
On Friday 2/19 PreCheck will operate only at North Checkpoint. After approximately 2/20 PreCheck will be at both checkpoints.
One other minor observation: Although the distance between the old Checkpoint 2 and the new North Checkpoint is not great, the new location seems much more convenient for accessing the A through E concourses and saves pax from having to weave through the mall traffic en route to those gates.