More than 7,300 passengers used the MSP Reserve service in one week earlier this month, three times the number of people who used it during the last week of January.
“It’s a great program no matter when you are flying,” said Allison Winters, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates the airport. “It gives you more control over the experience.”
Flyers departing from Terminal 1 or Terminal 2 can go onto MSP’s website up to a week before their flight and choose a time to pass through security. Travelers will get a QR code sent to their phone to show airport staff. Travelers then get to enter a special lane to go through the screening process, bypassing the general lanes.
That can equate to quite a time savings, especially during heavy travel times such as early mornings and spring break. This week, wait times between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. have been in the 20- to 35-minute range, according to the airport’s website.
That is far less than at other airports across the nation where Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staffing shortages due to the partial government shutdown have led to “the highest wait times in TSA history,” Ha Nguyen McNeill, the senior TSA official performing the duties of the administrator, said during a Homeland Security Committee hearing this week.
MSP Reserve has been gaining in popularity as images showing checkpoint lines stretching outside of terminals at other U.S. airports in recent weeks have spread on social media and are shown on network news.
For the week ending Jan. 25 — before the government shut down and spring break travel — just over 2,500 travelers used the airport’s reservation service. By the week of March 15, that grew to 7,334, the MAC said.
“We’re seeing a trend of passengers being more mindful, checking security wait times in advance and being prepared,” Winters said.
The heaviest usage of MSP Reserve occurred in the early morning hours with 90% of available slots taken. Overall, the number of available slots used at Terminal 1 has risen from 9% the last week of January to 75% for the week ending March 22.
At Terminal 2, home of Sun Country Airlines, usage has grown from 25% the week of Feb. 8 to about 76% last week, MAC figures show.
Between 13,000 and 14,000 slots were available each week over the past two months. The number of slots available each week are based on anticipated passenger volumes for security screening and change from week to week, airport officials said.
Early Friday, the U.S. Senate passed a measure to fund the TSA, a promising sign that could signal an end to the partial government shutdown that has forced TSA agents to work without pay since Feb. 14.
MSP has not reported many TSA employee absences that have plagued other airports. But “should TSA need to close a checkpoint due to staffing shortages, we may be unable to honor MSP Reserve reservations at that time,” a statement from the MAC said.
MSP is one of a handful of airports that offer a reservation service. Others include Denver, Orlando, Phoenix and Seattle.
In places where there is no reservation program, Kyle Potter with Thrifty Traveler says subscribing to TSA PreCheck, at a cost of $78 for five years, is one of the best investments a traveler can make.
“In good times and bad, it can save travelers a ton of time — not to mention, the hassle of taking liquids and electronics out of your bag,” Potter said.
Potter said using “Touchless ID” now offered at MSP can also get travelers through lines quicker. It comes with a designated line in which travelers skip the traditional ID check in favor of a quick photo. Travelers must opt in to the service to use it.
In the past few months, CLEAR has rolled out a new “e-Gate” technology. Passengers snap a selfie at an “E-Gate” then walk into the screening area.
For those not participating in those trusted-traveler programs and who don’t make a reservation, MSP has one piece of advice: get to the airport early.
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