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Security line ski-daddle: DIA debuts slope symbols

By Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 21, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Passengers try the "black diamond" security line for expert travelers Wednesday at Denver International Airport. Passengers now can choose from among three lines, based on their needs.

Photo by George Kochaniec Jr. / The Rocky

Passengers try the "black diamond" security line for expert travelers Wednesday at Denver International Airport. Passengers now can choose from among three lines, based on their needs.

Ed and Amy Gage and their 14-month-old daughter, Juliana, try the "green circle" line. The new lines at DIA are part of a two-week test to improve security and passenger wait times.

Photo by George Kochaniec Jr. / The Rocky

Ed and Amy Gage and their 14-month-old daughter, Juliana, try the "green circle" line. The new lines at DIA are part of a two-week test to improve security and passenger wait times.

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Phil Mahler was the perfect "black diamond" candidate.

Arizona businessman. Frequent flier. Blackberry user. Black briefcase. Black wool overcoat. Blue tie.

Moreover, he was fed up with the security lines at Denver International Airport, DIA's rental car situation and how long it takes to drive to an airport "out in the middle of nowhere."

So a new "black diamond" security line at DIA geared toward expert travelers like himself was appealing.

"Anything that can reduce time sounds good to me," said Mahler, standing in the security line. "You guys have to do something," he added, before checking his watch."

DIA is one of two airports where the Transportation Security Administration is rolling out a two-week pilot program that will allow passengers to select the security line they feel is most appropriate for them.

DIA's lines went live Wednesday. A similar experiment began a week earlier in Salt Lake City.

Color symbols that rate ski run difficulty - beginner, intermediate and expert - underscore the test project.

In addition to the "black diamond," there is a "green circle" line for travelers who need extra time to navigate security - typically families with young kids and strollers or those needing special assistance. The "blue square" line is for casual travelers with multiple carry-on bags.

Evergreen resident Kristan Anderson, who was traveling with her daughter to Portland, Ore., figured the blue line was for them: three carry-on bags between the two of them.

Anderson said she liked the concept of the three lines.

"Sometimes, it can get frustrating when you're behind a family with strollers and you're running for a flight," she said.

The situation Anderson outlined is the very type that the new system is designed to alleviate, said Dave Bassett, TSA's federal security director at DIA.

Asked how the new system was proceeding, he said, "pretty smoothly." Up to 43,000 travelers were expected to pass through DIA on Wednesday.

Walking along with his 5-year-old daughter, Alyson, who was pulling along her own small suitcase, Florida resident Hal Bozof said, "I guess the green for the family."

Ditto for Broomfield residents Mark and Alyssa McCluskey and their 22-month-old daughter, MacKenzie. The family - with MacKenzie's help - was pushing a stroller loaded with a backpack, laptop, clothes and baby food.

"I think it's good. From the family standpoint, you're not stressed out by the businessman behind you," Alyssa McCluskey said.

The choices

* Black diamond: For those who travel frequently and with little luggage

* Blue square: For casual travelers with multiple carry-on bags

* Green circle: For families, groups and those who need special assistance