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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - Airport Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13650.
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16 Airport Case Studies Four airports were selected for a more detailed evaluation of the current baggage recheck scenario. During the site visits, the team developed detailed passenger and baggage flows and consulted with airlines, airport operators, and local CBP and TSA officials. The visits were criti- cal to understand local characteristics that support or discourage an elimination or reduction in baggage recheck, to discuss alternative procedures, and to gather the input of stakeholders on site. Case Study 1: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Current Processes Based on the scope of work, the study team evaluated the four different types of flows— international arrivals, connections to other flights, and precleared passengers and bags—to validate existing processes. See Appendix C for a description of generic flows in greater detail. International Arrivals/Terminating Passengers and Bags Passengers who terminate at DFW represent 30 to 35 percent of international arriving traffic. Since DFW is their final destination (or an overnight connection), they collect their bags upon arrival and do not use the recheck facilities. The specific process is illustrated in Steps 1 through 4 in Figure 5: 1. Passengers deplane from an international arriving aircraft. 2. Passengers proceed to the CBP Primary Processing area, where processing lasts 30 to 60 sec- onds on average. This typically involves an interview of the passenger together with checking of appropriate forms, visas, and documents. Some passengers may use Global Entry trusted traveler self-service kiosks to enter the United States. A number of travelers will be directed to a CBP Secondary Processing area for further interviews regarding immigration issues. 3. At DFW, Terminal D is a multi-level facility. Passengers descend to the baggage claim area via an escalator or elevator. 4. After picking up their bags, passengers proceed past the CBP Egress Point. A CBP officer collects the declaration card and may at this point refer a passenger for Secondary examination. Passengers terminating in DFW then proceed to the public area of the terminal with their checked bags. Note that Terminal D has domestic swing capability for departures; some international-to- domestic traffic could occur. Checked bags follow a similar process. Bags are unloaded from the international arriving aircraft and are transported to conveyors leading to the baggage claim area to be picked up by passengers (Step 3). C h a p t e r 3

Airport Case Studies 17 Figure 5. DFW international terminating passenger and bag flow.

18 elimination or reduction of Baggage recheck for arriving International passengers International-to-Domestic Connections At DFW, a large majority of baggage recheck users are international-to-domestic passengers. The current international-to-domestic process [e.g., Tokyo Narita (NRT)–DFW–Miami (MIA)] at DFW typically requires that passengers change terminals. Terminal D is an international terminal, and domestic flights typically depart from Terminals A, B, and C. Like terminating passengers, international-to-domestic passengers proceed through Steps 1 through 4. After exiting to the public area of the terminal through the CBP Egress Point, pas- sengers have the option of rechecking their bags at a bag drop point staffed by airline agents. After proceeding back up to the departures level, passengers undergo TSA passenger screening. To get to their departure gate, typically in another terminal, passengers proceed up two levels to the Skylink airside people mover. Bags are unloaded from aircraft and transported up to the baggage claim carousels for pas- senger pickup. After being picked up and dropped off by passengers, bags proceed through the TSA baggage screening process before reaching the baggage make-up carousels. After all bags from Terminal D that make the same subsequent domestic connection are accumulated, they are transported in baggage carts to the appropriate terminal to be loaded. An overview of the process is provided in Figure 6 with passenger process Steps 1 through 7 as well as the corresponding bag processes. International-to-International Connections Before 2007, all international-to-international baggage connections used baggage recheck facilities. In April 2007, a streamlined international-to-international baggage connection pro- gram [e.g., NRT–DFW–Cancun (CUN)] for American Airlines at DFW was instituted. At the originating airport, special stickers/labels are affixed to the back of passenger passports and to checked baggage to identify the international-to-international connection. When passengers arrive at DFW, they deplane from the aircraft and proceed to CBP Primary like all other pas- sengers. After CBP Primary Processing, they proceed down two levels to the arrivals level but do not have to retrieve their bags. When CBP officers at the Egress Point encounter passengers without checked baggage but who wish to exit to the public area, they check for the sticker on the back of the passengers’ passports. If no Secondary inspection is required, travelers are free to proceed out past the baggage recheck area (without bags) and up to the departures level. At this point, passengers proceed through TSA passenger screening and enter the departures area to enplane at a gate in Terminal D. Bags in the international-to-international process are identified as such with the clearly marked baggage tag label. They are unloaded from the aircraft but are brought immediately to the designated connection induction point on the ramp level. Bags proceed directly to TSA bag- gage screening and then directly to the baggage make-up carousel. They are held separately on baggage carts until 30 minutes before departure, at which time they are loaded onto the aircraft. Typically only one cart is needed for staging; higher volumes may demand further space for storage. At any time up to 30 minutes before departure, baggage handlers can expect to receive a request for retrieval of these bags to CBP Secondary. CBP ensures that the passenger is not sent out of the sterile area. In other words, bags are requested for retrieval if and when a passenger is directed to Secondary. An overview of the international baggage connection program process is provided in Figure 7, with passenger process Steps 1 through 7 as well as the corresponding bag processes. For international-to-international connections on airlines other than American Airlines (which represents a very small percentage of total traffic), the process is identical to the international-

Airport Case Studies 19 Figure 6. DFW international-to-domestic passenger and bag flow.

20 Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers Figure 7. DFW international-to-international passenger and bag flow.

airport Case Studies 21 to-domestic connections process (i.e., with baggage recheck) except that departing flights are from Terminal D, so no change in terminal is required for passengers and their checked baggage. Preclearance Connections Although connecting checked bags for flights arriving at DFW from Preclearance airports do not need to be rechecked and do not come in contact with passengers, TSA has required that all checked bags from these flights must be rescreened before enplanement for a subsequent flight. The passenger process is much like a domestic arrival process in that passengers arrive at the termi- nal building in the departures area and do not proceed to CBP Primary. Passengers departing on domestic flights through other terminals use the people mover stops accessible from the departures areas. Otherwise, passengers departing on subsequent international flights remain in Terminal D. The specific process for these bags is that they are unloaded from arriving aircraft, fed to an induct conveyor for Preclearance connections, sent through TSA bag screening, and routed to the appropriate baggage make-up carousel. Preferential Connections on Airline Alliances The primary airline alliance at DFW is the oneworld Alliance, which consists of American Air- lines, American Eagle, British Airways, Japan Airlines, LAN Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and others. Although the international-to-international connections program at DFW is allowed for American Airlines-to-American Airlines connections, a number of oneworld Alliance partners are eligible to participate in the international baggage connection program (e.g., British Airways) and, at the time of this report, those partners are implementing the program. Otherwise, connections between air- line alliance partners are not given preferential treatment in terms of passenger and baggage flows. Relevance of Eliminating Baggage Recheck Airlines Both American Airlines and American Eagle agreed that the primary benefits of eliminating baggage recheck would be a potential reduction in mishandled bags and the improved ability to maintain schedule fidelity. The experience from implementing the current international-to-international connections process has provided the airlines with evidence that the reduced number of “touches” of the bags (i.e., conveyor to the baggage claim area, pickup by passengers, transport to the baggage recheck area belts, and induction back into the baggage handling system) resulted in fewer mishandled bags. American Airlines estimated that a 25 percent improvement could be achieved. The pos- sible reasons for this improvement may be attributed to passengers no longer being able to forget bags on the baggage claim carousel, less damage to baggage tags, and more accurate read rates by automated tag readers in the baggage handling system. Schedule fidelity is also improved with the elimination of baggage recheck through the reduc- tion of both process steps and time. Whereas bags that proceed up to the baggage claim area are retrieved and dropped off by passengers, bags that are directly re-inducted into the baggage handling system at ramp level are made more quickly available for baggage make-up and aircraft loading. The enhanced ability to ensure that bags are ready to depart can contribute to maintain- ing schedule fidelity. The cost of operationally implementing an international-to-domestic connection process similar to that of the international connections baggage program would be minimal. Originating stations (e.g., Tokyo Narita on a NRT–DFW–CUN trip) are accustomed to identifying passengers with connections, providing proper instructions, and marking their bags appropriately. Processes could be quickly implemented to remove baggage recheck for domestic connections relatively

22 elimination or reduction of Baggage recheck for arriving International passengers quickly. The processes and systems used for the international connections baggage program can be ported over to an international-to-domestic scenario, depending on the alternative processes used, with little additional training. Airport The main cost identified by DFW is to the infrastructure at the airport, or specifically the con- necting induction point on the ramp level is not able to accept the significantly increased number of bags—more than 50-fold—that domestic destination connections represent over the current number of international destination connections. Similarly, the number of bag retrievals for CBP Secondary processes may overwhelm the current system of manual retrievals for bags on an indi- vidual basis. Both facilities and operational costs to the airport would be incurred as a result. While one of the potential improvements from eliminating baggage recheck is a reduced minimum connection time (MCT) through DFW, this benefit has not yet been realized in the international-to-international connection program. Customs and Border Protection CBP views the implementation of the international-to-international connection program that eliminates baggage recheck for other passengers as a successful endeavor. CBP assessed the risk posed by this segment of passengers and their bags and ensured that appropriate steps were implemented to mitigate risk (e.g., retrieval of checked bags to CBP Secondary when requested). While the principles required to implement an international-to-domestic connections pro- cess that reduces the need for baggage recheck remain the same, the risk and corresponding mitigation measures will likely be different. The contents of an international-to-domestic pas- senger’s bag are more likely to enter the commerce of the United States than are those of an international-to-international passenger. Therefore, appropriate steps must be taken to prevent prohibited goods from entering the country if baggage recheck is removed. The international connections baggage processes that eliminate baggage recheck are already in operation at DFW and a number of DFW facility features are available for use in international- to-domestic connections processes (e.g., a legacy conveyor divert system that leads to the baggage carousels area currently exists in Terminal D and may accommodate baggage X-ray machines and ramp-level connection induct points into the baggage handling system). If all operational and risk management issues can be resolved, the cost to CBP to eliminate baggage recheck for inter- national-to-domestic connections similar to that of the existing international-to-international connections would be moderate. Transportation Security Administration As referenced earlier, TSA has no change in screening processes with baggage recheck elimination or reduction. However, TSA screening operations may be affected by the timing of when passen- gers arrive at the passenger screening checkpoint and when checked bags are inspected through the baggage screening system. No significant cost savings to TSA are foreseen by eliminating baggage recheck. Case Study 2: Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Current Processes The following describes the current processes through Concourse E at ATL for four different flows.

airport Case Studies 23 International Arrivals/Terminating Passengers Passengers who are terminating in Atlanta (or are staying overnight on a connection) proceed through Steps 1 through 4 shown in Figure 8. While passenger processing is similar to that of DFW through CBP Primary, baggage claim, and egress, there is a major difference in Atlanta from the usual process for terminating airports. Unlike other case study airports, all terminating passengers need to first recheck their bags because Concourse E is an airside international arriv- als building. Following baggage recheck, passengers are sent to security screening by TSA before being allowed in the secure area of the facility (i.e., the people mover system). One difference noted in baggage processing is that bags are unloaded from international arrivals and transported underground by conveyor belts to the baggage claim area for pickup by passengers. A graphical depiction of the process is shown in Figure 8. Note that for terminating pas- sengers, the process is identical to connecting passengers until Step 7 where they are required to reclaim their baggage before exiting the airport. In 2012, the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. Inter- national Terminal will have a second CBP international arrivals area for ATL which will not have a baggage recheck process for terminating passengers. International-to-Domestic Connections For connecting passengers, international-to-domestic connections represent a sizable con- nection flow. The current international-to-domestic process [e.g., Lima (LIM)–ATL–Boston (BOS)] at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport follows two main flows: • Passengers: – Deplane (Step 1) and proceed through CBP Primary (Step 2). – Descend to the baggage claim area and are reunited with their bags (Step 3). – After exiting through the CBP Egress Point (Step 4), recheck their bags (Step 5). – After being processed through TSA passenger screening (Step 6), either proceed upstairs to outbound gates on Concourse E or downstairs to the people mover system depending on the domestic connecting flight (Step 7). • Bags – Bags are unloaded from aircraft and transported up to the baggage claim carousels. – After being claimed and rechecked by passengers, bags proceed through a TSA in-line bag- gage screening process in Concourse E before being forwarded to other concourses. An overview of the process is provided in Figure 9 with passenger process Steps 1 through 7, as well as the corresponding bag processes. International-to-International Connections Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport has eliminated baggage recheck for international-to-international connections. For a number of flight routings (e.g., Africa–ATL–South America), there is an increasing focus on facilitating process flows. In reviewing volumes, the study team found that ATL had one of the largest scale programs of baggage recheck elimination to date, estimated at 360,000 passengers/year. International-to- international bags are separated and kept at the ramp level, where they are introduced into TSA’s EDS in Concourse E. Meanwhile, corresponding passengers deplane with other types of passen- gers (domestic connections, terminating) and are processed by CBP. If CBP refers a passenger to Secondary, then the baggage is delivered to the Secondary area. In Atlanta’s case, the layout of the terminal is conducive to this arrangement given that all bags remain on the apron level. An overview of the international baggage connection program process is provided in Figure 10 with passenger process Steps 1 through 7, as well as the corresponding bag processes.

24 Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers Figure 8. ATL international arrivals passenger and bag flow.

Airport Case Studies 25 Figure 9. ATL international-to-domestic passenger and bag flow.

26 Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers Figure 10. ATL international-to-international passenger and bag flow.

airport Case Studies 27 Preclearance Connections ATL is the recipient of U.S. Preclearance flights from the Caribbean (e.g., Nassau) and Canada (e.g., Toronto). Precleared arriving passengers are treated similarly to those arriving on domestic flights: passengers deplane directly into the departures area and can proceed directly to their sub- sequent connecting flights. Precleared flights from the Caribbean typically arrive on Concourse E, while precleared flights from Canada arrive on Concourse D. Rescreening of bags from these flights occurs within one of three screening areas (two within the main terminal building and one under Concourse E). To meet this requirement, bags must be presented to the TSA by the carrier for rescreening before enplanement for a subsequent flight. Preferential Connections on Airline Alliances SkyTeam is the primary alliance for connections at ATL. While the baggage recheck facility is primarily geared toward the dominant carrier and alliance, there are also desks and capabilities for United Airlines and British Airways/American Airlines staff to use recheck facilities. Relevance of Eliminating Baggage Recheck Airlines Discussions with airlines highlighted several key benefits of baggage recheck elimination, including reduced staffing costs and improved connections. The challenge of the baggage process stems from the volume of bags and passengers being handled. International movements at ATL typically call for approximately 23,000 arriving bags per day. This amounts to an hourly peak of more than 1,100 bags on average, with peaks that could approach 1,500 bags depending on the number of wide body aircraft. The relevance of the baggage recheck connection issue is based on connection times and accommodating the large volumes of passengers. At present, 80 minutes is the standard for international–domestic connection times at ATL. However, as 12 wide body aircraft currently arrive between 3:30 and 5:00 p.m., peak baggage volumes can result in up to 20 percent of international bags missing connections. By compari- son, domestic connections are listed at 40 minutes. Atlanta’s very large volume of baggage is impacted by insufficient connection time, and the baggage delay is often misperceived by pas- sengers to be the fault of CBP. With international-to-international processes in place for handling bags at the ramp level, there was anecdotal evidence that substantial improvements on the number of mishandled bags were made for this flow. Airport One of the chief customer service complaints about Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the baggage recheck process for terminating passengers. While the new Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. International Terminal will address this recheck for terminating flows, there is considerable interest in eliminating all baggage recheck due to space constraints. Sim- plifying access to inter-concourse trains could result in dramatic gains in passenger flows and convenience. Customs and Border Protection CBP is generally supportive of a technological approach to improving the baggage recheck processes. While mindful of the risk environment, CBP noted that Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport was one of the fastest growing sites for Global Entry. The relevance to the baggage recheck issue is based on the opportunity for testing ideas for a group of vetted low-risk

28 elimination or reduction of Baggage recheck for arriving International passengers passengers. Other technologies have been reviewed in the past, including sharing information from other agencies such as TSA, and the use of passenger tracking tools such as RFID. Transportation Security Administration There was no direct comment from TSA on baggage recheck elimination. However, at an operational level, the study team identified potential issues at a number of flows/cross-flows, as well as space associated with queuing for TSA processes. Case Study 3: San Francisco International Airport Current Processes This section maps the five current passenger and baggage flows at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). International Arrivals/Terminating Passengers The FIS facilities are adjacent to each other to serve “A” and “G” gates in the international terminal. For the purpose of this review, the study team focused on G gates that primarily service Star Alliance (United) flights. All international arriving passengers to SFO deplane and follow a sterile corridor to CBP Pri- mary. SFO is different from ATL and DFW in that the international arrivals area is on one level. All passengers present themselves to CBP for primary processing and are subsequently directed to CBP Secondary or the baggage carousel area. Terminating passengers are responsible for col- lecting their checked baggage (if applicable) and proceeding to the Egress Officer position before exiting to the public area of the terminal. Baggage is unloaded from the international arriving aircraft and loaded onto the appropriate conveyor belt(s) to distribute the bags to the baggage carousels one level above. An overview of this process is provided in Figure 11 with passenger process Steps 1 through 5. To simplify the description of this process, Figure 11 outlines the flow of an international arriving passenger at International G gates. For passengers arriving at the A gates, the flow is a mirror image. International-to-Domestic Connections International-to-domestic connecting passengers (see Figure 12) follow the same path as ter- minating passengers through the CBP Egress officer position, but they use separate exits. After international-to-domestic passengers exit, United Airlines and Star Alliance passengers turn left (other carrier passengers turn right) to approach the United Airlines baggage recheck facility where they place their baggage into the SFO baggage system. Airline staff is present to help pas- sengers address issues such as missed connections, re-booking, or termination of any previously checked baggage. Once the recheck process is complete, passengers follow a public corridor to TSA security screening. United and Star Alliance passengers are typically directed toward the international checkpoint for TSA passenger screening and then follow a secure side corridor to Terminal 3 for domestic connections. International-to-domestic transfer baggage is unloaded from the aircraft (with terminating and other transfer baggage) and loaded onto the appropriate conveyor belt(s) to distribute the bags to the baggage carousels one level above. Once collected by the passenger and re-inducted into the system at the recheck facility, the bag is transported via a high-speed conveyor belt to the

Airport Case Studies 29 Figure 11. SFO international terminating passenger and bag flow.

30 Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers Figure 12. SFO international-to-domestic connections passenger and bag flow.

airport Case Studies 31 appropriate terminal (typically Terminal 3). Upon arrival at the outbound terminal, the inter- terminal conveyor belt has second priority to originating passengers to enter the TSA X-ray screen- ing matrix. Once screened, the bag is sorted to its appropriate outbound baggage make-up unit. Figure 12 depicts the flow of an internationally arriving United Airlines/Star Alliance pas- senger connecting to a domestic flight from Terminal 3. The process is a mirror image for those arriving at the A gates and connecting to Terminal 1 for a domestic flight, with the exception that a sterile airside corridor does not exist between the A gates and Terminal 1. Several carriers have opted not to utilize the baggage recheck facility provided by the airport because of the incremental costs of staffing positions to serve a select few passengers. Instead, international-to-domestic passengers are required to approach other check-in areas to recheck their baggage alongside other domestic passengers originating in San Francisco. International-to-International Connections The international-to-international connection process is the same as the international-to- domestic process through the recheck process. The only difference is the baggage process. Instead of using a high-speed conveyor to the domestic terminal (1 or 3), bags are directed to the TSA X-ray screening matrix in the international terminal. If cleared by the TSA, the baggage is sorted to the appropriate outbound make-up unit. An overview of the process is provided with passenger process Steps 1 through 6 as well as the corresponding bag processes (see Figure 13). Preclearance Connections SFO has precleared flights arriving to the airport from Canada (e.g., Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto). To meet ATSA requirements, TSA mandates that the bags be delivered for baggage screening. The passenger process is much like a domestic arrival process in that passengers arrive into the terminal building in the departures area and do not proceed to CBP Primary. Passengers departing on domestic flights stay within the same terminal or can exit to the public side and proceed to the other terminal. The specific process for these bags is that they are unloaded from arriving aircraft, fed to an induct conveyor that leads directly to TSA bag screening, and routed to the appropriate baggage make-up carousel. Preferential Connections Process United Airlines has a designated TSA passenger checkpoint, located between the International Terminal and Terminal 3, which services United Preferred passengers (connecting and origi- nating). During peak periods, this United Preferred checkpoint provides an easier connection process for international arriving passengers to connect to domestic flights. Relevance of Eliminating Baggage Recheck Each stakeholder consulted at SFO was asked a series of questions with regard to the relevance of eliminating baggage recheck for international connections. The discussions centered on the operational impact, cost, timing, and benefits of eliminating/reducing baggage recheck. Air Carrier The dominant air carrier operating services to/from SFO is United Airlines, which there- fore has the greatest opportunity to benefit from eliminating or reducing the need for baggage recheck.

32 Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers Figure 13. SFO international-to-international connections passenger and bag flow.

airport Case Studies 33 The dominant connecting market for United Airlines is the international-to-domestic sector rather than the international-to-international market, which is more prominent through LAX. In examining the volumes of connecting passengers in Summer 2010, however, United Airlines reported that there were insufficient volumes to invest in new processes to remove recheck pro- cesses. While not opposed to process improvements, United Airlines gave priority to sites other than SFO. Airport SFO staff also identified the international-to-domestic connections as the market that would generate the greatest benefits should the need for baggage recheck be eliminated. For the airport, the greatest benefits would be realized through improvements to passenger convenience—and their potential to spend more money on retail/concessions if not waiting for baggage. Currently, it is acknowledged that the critical bottleneck in the connection process is wait time at the bag- gage carousels in the international arrivals area, and again at the recheck facility. CBP has proven to effectively staff the more than 70 Primary podium positions to sufficiently manage the queue lengths during the morning peak-hour volumes. The ability to remove onward connecting passengers from the baggage carousel area and the recheck facility would provide significant space savings as well. The opportunity to provide customers (i.e., air carriers) with a facilitated process would help develop the airport as a gateway to/through North America. The airport also acknowl- edged the impact of TSA rescreening of U.S. Preclearance bags as a hindrance to its gateway operations. For the betterment of the airport, reducing or eliminating the need for baggage recheck would have universal air carrier participation due to the volume of connecting non–United Airlines passengers (e.g., Virgin Atlantic, British Airways). One factor of concern to the airport is its ability to temporarily store bags in the outbound baggage area (based on the International Baggage Connection Program in DFW). This issue is likely to be a factor for many ports of entry across the United States. Customs and Border Protection The discussion with San Francisco–based CBP officers centered on the international-to- international connections through DFW and ATL for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines passengers, respectively. Unaware of the two programs, SFO CBP highlighted the value of seeing the passenger and baggage interaction as an element of the risk management inspection they undertake with each passenger. CBP also acknowledged the regular queues that form at the international arrivals baggage carousels as passengers wait to retrieve their checked baggage. CBP noted that passengers often misperceived that the baggage delays were the fault of CBP. They also recognized the passen- ger convenience that could be improved through the elimination or reduction of passengers retrieving their baggage. However, this could not occur at a detriment to their risk management provisions. Transportation Security Administration At present, there is a conveyor system to feed baggage directly into the TSA X-ray screening in unit in the international terminal facility.

34 elimination or reduction of Baggage recheck for arriving International passengers Case Study 4: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Current Processes This section maps the three current general passenger and baggage flows at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). International Arrivals/Terminating Passengers All international arrival passengers, excluding those arriving on precleared flights, proceed through the FIS facility located in the South Satellite terminal. After passengers claim their bags and exit the FIS area, they must drop their bags for separate transport to the Main Terminal. Passengers must be rescreened before boarding the secure airside people mover that transports them to the Main Terminal. Bags are moved via a conveyor to the Main Terminal baggage claim to be retrieved by passengers. Figure 14 depicts these flows. International-to-Domestic and International-to-International Passengers Connecting passengers, whether international-to-domestic or international-to-international, must currently recheck their bags after exiting the FIS area. Passengers are screened in the South Satellite before proceeding by secure airside people mover to the Main Terminal or up to the departures level of the South Satellite. After baggage screening, the luggage waits at the bag make-up area to be picked up by airline baggage handlers to be loaded onto aircraft either at the Main Terminal or at the South Satellite. Figure 15 depicts these flows. Preclearance Connection Checked baggage for flights arriving at SEA from Preclearance airports in Canada does not need to be retrieved and does not come in contact with passengers. Passengers arrive and deplane directly into the departures area of the terminal, but TSA still requires that all checked bags from these flights be rescreened before being loaded onto the subsequent connecting flight. Bags are unloaded from arriving aircraft and then fed to an induct conveyor for Preclearance connec- tions at the Main Terminal; bags then proceed through TSA bag screening and are sorted to the appropriate connecting domestic or international flight. Preferential Connections on Airline Alliances SEA is a hub airport for Delta and Alaska/Horizon Air. Numerous international-to-international and international-to-domestic connections take place between these airlines. Preferential treat- ment of passenger and baggage flows by airline, however, is not currently in place at the airport. Relevance of Reducing Baggage Recheck While representatives of the airline, CBP, and the airport were consulted at SEA, Port Seattle (airport) was the only local representative that engaged in an in-depth discussion regarding the reduction of baggage recheck for international-to-international connections. Airport The discussions centered on the operational requirements, cost, timing, and benefits of reduc- ing baggage recheck. While a number of minor operational adjustments would be required to implement a near-term international-to-international bag transfer program for a specific set of flights, the costs are relatively low and the benefits are significant. Some of the benefits cited include alleviating congestion in the baggage claim carousel area while also freeing up capacity on the carousel, acting as a potential step to eliminate need for bags in the FIS area for destina- tion passengers, helping improve minimum connection times, and reducing bag handling and potential issues.

Airport Case Studies 35 Figure 14. SEA terminating passenger and bag flow.

36 Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers Figure 15. SEA connecting passenger and bag flow.

Next: Chapter 4 - Testing and Evaluating Potential Solutions »
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TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 61: Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers identifies potential alternative procedures that might be implemented to help reduce or eliminate the need for the recheck of baggage for arriving international passengers at U.S. airports.

The report describes the potential benefits and costs to airports, airlines, and federal agencies related to adopting the procedures and also compares the alternative procedures with current practices.

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