HEBRON, Ky. (AP) - The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
International Airport has a new $23 million security checkpoint
building, where airline passengers will be screened before heading
off to catch their flights.
The Kentucky Enquirer reports that the new facility, which
opened fully within the past week, is expected to speed up the
security process.
"It used to be that it would be hard to get people into the
shortest lanes because you couldn't see what's going on
downstairs," said Paul Wisniewski, the local federal security
director for the Transportation Security Administration. "This
should run a lot smoother than in the past, and even then we didn't
have very long wait times even during peak times."
Construction on the new checkpoint began in 2007 after being
approved by the Kenton County Airport Board the previous year.
Airport spokeswoman Barb Schempf said the facilities were needed
despite the dramatic drop in flights and passengers in the last
three years, because the screening area served the local market and
not passengers transferring through Delta Air Lines' hub here.
The airport paid for almost all of the new building and
checkpoint, with the TSA contributing $700,000 for a new security
camera system.