St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) officials have announced that they’ve finished a checkpoint expansion project that creates a seventh security screening lane that will be used during peak hours in terminal two.
Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea says the airport has been coordinating the project with the TSA.
“We’ve gone from six to seven (lanes),” Lea says. “This was crucial because we’ve seen just an expansion of flights out of terminal two from Southwest and thus passenger growth.”
Lea notes the TSA conducted more than 2.8 million passenger screenings in 2017 in terminal two, a 5.5 percent increase. He says the new checkpoint expansion in that terminal will help accommodate that growth.
“And we’ve partnered with the TSA to really achieve an opportunity to reduce the waiting times and get a faster throughpoint for our passengers so they can make it to the secure side and get to their gates and onto their flights on time,” says Lea.
Terminal two mainly houses gates for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines. Lea says Southwest added new service from St. Louis to San Jose and Sacramento earlier this month.
Meantime, you’ll soon be able to fly nonstop from St. Louis to Iceland. Lea tells Missourinet the additional lane will also accommodate the new international service on WOW air between St. Louis and Iceland.
“The service begins four days a week but it begins May 17th and in June it will expand to five days a week, adding a Sunday flight,” Lea says.
Lea says he’s hearing “nothing but positive news” about ticket sales.
He says Lambert officials are currently working with WOW air to get terminal two set up for them to operate.
Lea says WOW air will take over counter space adjacent to the Southwest counters, and will operate from gate E-29.
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and St. Louis Lambert International Airport spokesman Jeff Lea, which was recorded on April 18, 2018: