McCarran International Airport’s lines to clear customs still long
The lines of travelers waiting to clear customs and immigration at McCarran International Airport started to get shorter in the past month, but still run much longer than they were a year ago.
The wait times ballooned when the new Terminal 3 opened June 27, despite the expectation of improved service because of a facility designed to handle 2,000 passengers an hour instead of the previous capacity of 800 in the now-closed Terminal 2. In August, as the issue first surfaced, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Lee Ann Harty said that the problem "should be resolved by mid-September" as more officers transferred from other locations.
Yet according to agency performance reports, the improvement has been gradual but not a resolution. The maximum wait-in-line time for travelers entering the United States through McCarran from Aug. 1 through Sept. 14 exceeded 60 minutes during eight of the hourly blocks that the agency uses as measuring sticks, including one that ran 2 hours and 40 minutes. That had dropped to six hourly blocks at 60-plus minutes from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, with the worst wait of one hour and 45 minutes.
However, the longest wait during either period last year was only 61 minutes, with every other hourly block 49 minutes or shorter.
The same pattern held true for the average waits. For the August-September period this year, the times exceeded 20 minutes in 13 hourly blocks compared to 10 for September-October. In 2011, by contrast, the number was six for both periods combined.
"Customs and Border Protection has initiated an 'all hands on deck' approach at McCarran International Airport to increase the number of officers at primary inspection, reducing or eliminating nonpassenger processing during peak arrival periods to align with changing travel patterns," said agency spokeswoman Jenny Burke, in a written response. "Currently, 86% of all passengers arriving at McCarran International Airport are processed in 60 minutes or less with continued improvements in wait times expected through the end of the year."
In particular, the strategy is to boost the inspection staff during the peak days of Thursday and Sunday. The maximum number of inspection booths open during the September-October period went up to 14, compared with 12 a year ago.
The agency has transferred four officers from elsewhere to help, with three more planned to arrive by the end of the year, said McCarran spokesman Chris Jones, citing regular reports provided to airport management.
Customs and Border Protection does not disclose the size of the local contingent. But a spokeswoman said their increase would run about 25 percent, approximately 24 people to 31 people.
The number of international passenger arrivals went up 29 percent during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, added Burke. McCarran's own counts show international traffic climbing 12.2 percent during the eight months through August but 24 percent excluding three Canadian carriers. The bulk of their passengers clear customs and immigration in Canada.
Another factor, Clark County Aviation Department director Randall Walker explained in August, is that Terminal 3, with seven international gates compared with Terminal 2's four, had greatly reduced the amount of time passengers had to wait in the plane after landing. But the resulting lines in the terminal had the effect of transferring the wait time to the agency's clock, he said.
One agency source said it was working with McCarran officials and airlines to spread out flight schedules to reduce congestion. Jones said this has been a standard practice for some time but with the recommendations advisory rather than mandatory.
However, the greater capacity was touted as one of Terminal 3's advantages, allowing airlines the schedules they want.
"It all points back to what we have been saying all along, that we need more people," said Jones.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
