STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Sun Valley residents rejoiced to see the growth in commercial passenger flights at Friedman Memorial Airport.
But now they’re reaping the growing pains.
Since July some passengers have not been able to get through TSA checks in time to make their flights. It came to a head Sunday morning as about 20 people reportedly missed their flight. One passenger who missed his flight got unruly enough that the police had to be called, said Airport Manager Chris Pomeroy.
In one case, one couple arrived at the airport an hour and 20 minutes before their 7 a.m. flight. The wife boarded the flight only to have the doors closed before her husband boarded, even though she told flight attendants that her husband was right behind her. He later had to rent a car to drive to Boise to catch another flight.
In another case, a couple with an infant was unable to board a flight to Denver in time.
“In some cases passengers got $500 but they would have rather have gotten on the plane and avoided the hassle,” said Chrissy Field, who has had several friends bumped in the past couple weeks. “I’m afraid it’s not going to be good for air visitors and air travel if people hear about this.”
Most of the problems involve the early morning flights leaving SUN—most often on Sundays and Mondays, said Pomeroy.
A Delta flight headed for Salt Lake City takes off at 7 a.m. and it’s followed 15 minutes later by a United flight headed for Denver.
With 70 passengers on each flight, that means 140 passengers trying to get through TSA security checks between 5:10 a.m. when Transportation Security Administration agents open for business and the time the doors are closed on the planes 10 minutes before they take off.
“You can’t show up at 6:15 in the morning and expect to get on a 7 a.m. flight,” said Carol Waller, executive director of Fly Sun Valley Alliance.
Pomeroy said passengers are asked to report to the airport 90 minutes to two hours ahead of their flights.
“I know people are frustrated, but what we’re seeing is that no one is getting there between 5 and 6,” he added. “It’s been a busy, busy summer, and we’re busier than we’ve ever been, thanks to the efforts of Sun Valley Alliance and others to secure flights in and out of our airport,”
Pomeroy said he and his staff are working with the TSA staff to see if there’s any way they can expedite checks. But the number of TSA agents is established nationally, according to a formula based on plane loads, and the TSA staff at Friedman is at full capacity.
There’s no way the equipment can be modified to speed things up, either, Pomeroy said: “We’re where we’re supposed to be in terms of the number of staff and equipment.”
The problem will be alleviated Sept. 4 when United’s summer flights headed to Denver and San Francisco end temporarily, Pomeroy said. But passengers can expect morning crowds again when United resumes its non-stop flights in winter and everybody again begins boarding the early morning flights to meet connections.
Pomeroy said he does not know how many people have been refused boarding because they haven’t gotten through security checks in time.
“We feel a little helpless as there’s nothing we can do but tell people again and again to get here early,” he said. “The Coffeehouse is doing a wonderful job of providing coffee and other things for early morning travelers so travelers need to find themselves a good book and just hang out.”