Confusion among travelers at Pittsburgh International Airport amid TSA changes, looming Real ID deadline
Changes to the TSA checkpoints at Pittsburgh International Airport take effect on Monday.
The changes come just days before the enforcement period for REAL ID begins and ahead of the summer travel season taking off.
As the spring and summer travel season takes off, be prepared for some differences at Pittsburgh International Airport when going through security during those early morning hours. They threw a curveball for travelers on the first day, who were confused about where to go and waited in lines only to find out they were in the wrong ones.
Janice Toth has been traveling to Pittsburgh more often from Maui, Hawaii, to visit her new grandchild, but as she was leaving the area, things didn't exactly go smoothly.
"I think it's this way, I don't know, follow us to the third floor, no, that's not it, come here, no, you know what, ask that man over there, he might know," Toth said.
Those are the responses Toth received from workers at the airport Monday morning, as she tried to figure out where she needed to get screened by TSA as someone with PreCheck.
"I spoke with probably four different employees who were all really polite, but seemed to be a little confused as well," Toth said.
Workers and travelers alike were a little mixed up as the agency switched up operations during the peak hours between 4 and 7 a.m. For these hours, what's typically PreCheck is now Clear, and the general checkpoint is PreCheck. On the same floor, there's a line for first class, people with disabilities, and employees. Everyone else who doesn't fall into those categories needs to go to the alternate checkpoint.
According to TSA, travel volume has increased tremendously in the past year, and they're trying to improve efficiency and streamline the process.
However, at least on the first day, for hours, wait times were much longer than usual for Clear and PreCheck, frustrating travelers who pay extra for these programs, like Kevin Parsons of Gibsonia.
"Usually, you just kind of zip right in. I don't know what happened here," Parsons said. "It's the longest I've ever seen. I've had it for like 10 years."
Chad Ware of Belle Vernon was also surprised by the length of the line for Clear.
"No one ever wants to wait 30 minutes or so or 25 minutes after you pay for Clear," Ware said.
This all came just two days before the Real ID requirement goes into effect, which could cause other delays if travelers show up without one or a valid passport, Global Entry ID, or military ID.
KDKA-TV contacted the airport about the problems. Spokesperson Bob Kerlik provided the following statement in response:
In advance of a very busy spring travel season, TSA announced changes last month to the checkpoint configurations that took effect today. After hearing feedback from passengers this morning, PIT reached out to our TSA partners with that feedback. We are continuing to work with TSA as their plan evolves to better streamline the passenger experience and assist where appropriate.
KDKA-TV also contacted TSA, which didn't provide a complete response to questions on the changes. Spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said in part, "Often travelers without TSA PreCheck get in the wrong line, so a quick question can resolve that issue."
"Maybe we're just going through some growing pains," Parsons said.
Toth hopes that's the case, and that things will resolve before her next trip to Pittsburgh.
"I want to be able to get in and out of here whenever I want," Toth said.
These changes are all temporary. There will be a new TSA screening area when the new terminal is set to open this fall.
Other than the changes to the lines, TSA is also closing the screening checkpoints from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., and it plans to use screening canine teams to expedite the screening process.
