Better Baggage System on Way to Portland International

Flyers hate the belly-bag two-step, the process by which you check-in your luggage, and then lug it laboriously over to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer so they can then load it into the maw of one of those minivan-size machines to check for explosives. Some airports have moved beyond that, with so-called “in-line” checked baggage screening that’s done in the innards of airport not right out in the middle of ticketing lobbies.

Right now, Portland International Airport (PDX) is one of those unlucky airports where the two-step still reins. By late 2010, however, it should go in-line. Bill Wyatt, Port of Portland Executive Director, says TSA has awarded PDX a $60 million grant to render the checked baggage system out of sight, and more efficient.

In all, the construction project’s price tag is $104.3 million. Construction has already begun, after what PDX says in a prepared release, was “careful planning and coordination to lessen impacts for travelers and businesses.”

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler