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Chapter 3
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).
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Airport Case Studies 17
Figure 5. DFW international terminating passenger and bag flow.
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18Elimination 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)DFWMiami (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., NRTDFWCancun (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-
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Airport Case Studies 19
Figure 6. DFW international-to-domestic passenger and bag flow.
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20 Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers
Figure 7. DFW international-to-international passenger and bag flow.
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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 NRTDFWCUN 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
