The holidays bring more travelers through airports. These tips are provided to help ease the hassle and make your holiday travel as stress-free as possible. Plus, its good advice for traveling anytime.
Tips from the Transportation Security Administration
Arrive early! Plan on arriving two hours before departure to allow time to park, check in, and get through security. Enhanced security procedures, full flights, and inexperienced travelers are slowing down the screening process.
Passengers at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) are now being asked to remove electronics larger than a cell phone from carry-on bags and place them in a bin with nothing on top or below. These new procedures are being rolled out at airports around the country, and were implemented at ICT last month. TSA officers in standard screening lanes are available in front of the checkpoint X-ray machines to guide passengers through the screening process and advise on what items need to be removed from carry-ons and placed in a bin for X-ray screening. There are no changes for TSA Pre✓® members.
In addition, TSA officers sometimes will suggest that passengers remove other select items, including food, from their carry-on bags. This helps x-ray operators get a clearer view of the contents of the bag. We encourage passengers to listen closely to the instructions given by TSA officers at the checkpoint. It is important to note that there are no changes to what travelers are allowed to bring through the security checkpoint. Refer to the TSA Blog for more travel tips.
- TSA opens checkpoint at 3:45 am and closes 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, depending on the flight schedule.
- Dress for easy screening – slip-on shoes, no belts, no metal, no bling.
- Shoes need to be divested directly onto the x-ray conveyor belt or in a bin with nothing inside the shoes or anything on or below the shoes.
- Outer coats, jackets, as well as anything that might cause an alarm, including bulky sweatshirts and hoodies as long as the passenger is comfortable removing and he or she is wearing something underneath. Belts need to be removed because they might cause an alarm.
- Hats and scarves need to be removed because they might cause alarm.
- Everything must be removed from the passenger’s pockets.
- Sign up for TSA PreCheck. The TSA PreCheck™ office is located at New Leaf Plaza, 2021 N. Amidon, Suite 130.
If you are not a TSA PreCheck passenger, these items must be removed from carry-on prior to screening.
- Electronics that are bigger than your cell phone including CPAP, BPAP.
- Liquids, gels, aerosols, toiletries, shampoos, pastes, creams, lotions, perfumes, etc. Liquids must be 3.4 oz. or less and all fit into one, 1-quart zip-top bag.
- Medications in liquid form or pill form and vitamins.
- Belts and light jackets
- Baby Bags: Baby Wipes, formula, breast milk, diapers
Security Procedures for Kids: http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-kids
Contact TSA
- E-mail TSA at [email protected]
- TSA Contact Center – 1 (866) 289-9673
- Website: https://www.tsa.gov/travel
- Local Transportation Security Administration: (316) 361-2301
- Ask TSA “What Can I Bring? https://www.tsa.gov/blog
- Social Media – Twitter.com/TSA
Tips from the Airport
- Busy times at the airport:
- Between 6:00 am – 7:00 am there are 7 departures. Expect the TSA to be busy between 4:30 am – 6:30 am.
- Between 11:00 am – 1:00 pm there are 9 departures. Expect the TSA to be busy between 9:30 am – 12:30 pm.
- Wednesday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 26 will be the busiest days.
- You are not allowed to park and wait in front of the terminal. Use the cell phone lot if picking up guests. The front of the terminal is for quick pickup and drop-off.
- Check in for your flight up to 24 hours before departure time.
- If you need assistance in any of the parking areas, or if you need your windshield scraped, a flat tire inflated, call ABM Parking at 316-946-4772.
- Unpack before packing to make sure you have no prohibited items in your carry-on or checked bags.
- If you’ll be traveling with presents, plan to wrap them at your destination. There is a possibility that TSA officers will need to unwrap gifts to look inside.
- Based on feedback from passengers and the airlines, if you’re bringing food items through screening, such as candy, nuts, snacks, etc., you can speed up the screening process by removing those items from your carry-on and placing them in the bin.
- Each airline has different weight and size requirements for baggage. Visit the airline’s websites so you won’t have any surprises when you arrive at the airport.
- Visit flywichita.com for parking, ground transportation, airline information, and airport services.
