FLL to make space for Super Bowl fliers

Authorities at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) are planning an interior reshuffle that will make space for winter-season travelers and Super Bowl fliers.

Visiting the airport, John Mica, U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman, and Clay Shaw, fellow Republican U.S. Representative, identified the need to shorten queues as traffic increases, The Miami Herald reports.

"There's going to be tremendous pressure on the airport," Shaw told the newspaper. "We expect long lines for the visitors to be returning home."

Cumbersome detection equipment that dominates the lobby will be moved in plans to free up room for passengers, with bag checks conducted at ticket desks to save time. And with more than 100,000 visitors expected to flock to South Florida for the Super Bowl alone next February, steps will need to be taken to prevent tailbacks.

"We're looking for ways to process people in an expedited fashion, but also in a safe and secure fashion," Mica explained.

The Subcommittee Chairman, who toured 17 domestic airports in August, expounded plans to introduce so-called "in-line" baggage-checking systems, which can reduce the number of screeners needed by a purported 75 percent, saving both time and space.

Tampa Airport employs 16 in-line scanners and, although only slightly larger, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood uses 200.

In the interim, the hall will be cleared of massive detection equipment and a one-stop check-in process will be introduced.

© Adfero Ltd