Changes in Air Travel Essay -- Logistics

INTRODUCTION The terrorist attack of Sept 11, 2001 significantly changed the landscape of air travel. Congress put in place mandates to screen all checked baggage and improve passenger screening procedures. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was chartered to oversee these changes. The major obstacle was old antiquated equipment that was unable to handle the demand which resulted in a significant delay in time it took to process passengers. With the recovery of the airline industry since the attack the challenge is how passengers move through the airport quickly and efficiently. Through the history of air travel there have been many initiatives attempted to improve the passenger experience. The three I will focus on are the mobile lounge concept implemented in 1962 with the opening of Dulles , and the newer concept of Fast Travel initiated by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) and the so called â€Å"security checkpoint of the future† also being tested by IATA (Engle, 2011). On the surface the mobile lounges seemed like a solid principle. It kept walking required by the passenger to a minimum as parking and passenger processing facilities were close in proximity. In theory if expansion due to additional aircraft was required you would only need to add additional mobile lounges to support the demand (Young & Wells, 2011). When Dulles International Airport opened in 1962 it was at the cutting edge of technology. It was the first airport with separate buildings to handle people and airplanes. Your processed in the main terminal and then walked to the mobile lounges which could serve as holding rooms or used to transport passengers directly to the aircraft. As the amount of people an... ... the experience much more enjoyable. The so called â€Å"security checkpoint of the future† (Engle, 2011) being developed and tested by IATA could make for an exciting passenger experience. In light of security concerns it could be a few years before we something to this effect in our airports. Works Cited IATA awards Abu Dhabi International Airport for Fast Travel. (2011, December 26). Arabic 2000. Engle, J. (2011, June 7). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/07/news/la-trb-checkpoint-future-iata-20110607 Schvartzman, R. (2011). Fast Travel Maximise Passenger Control of Departure and Arrival Passengers. International Air Transport Association. Schwartz, A. (2007). Transforming Dulles Airport. Air Transport World, 50-52. Young, S. B., & Wells, A. T. (2011). Airport Planning & Management. McGraw-Hills Companies Inc.