Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to the summer travel season, and Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport is expecting the number of travelers to exceed pre-pandemic levels this season.
Bart Johnson, the Transportation Security Administration’s federal security director for numerous upstate New York airports, said planning ahead is essential.
"Please treat this as a partnership,” Johnson said. “We have a job to do, and I would submit the traveling public has their job to do also.”
Johnson urged airport passengers to make sure unauthorized items are left at home.
“Know what you need to do before you start traveling,” he said. “Start with an empty bag. Literally go inside of it and make sure that nothing is in it. And if you do that, you'll make sure that you don't bring to the airport something that is prohibited.”
Some travelers have brought guns, knives, and replica weapons to TSA airport checkpoints, which can constitute a security threat and cause delays.
“That's absolutely inexcusable, that an individual would not know where their handgun is and bring it to a checkpoint,” Johnson said. “Bringing into question the safety of the passengers.”
As always, it’s recommended travelers arrive at the airport two hours ahead of time and have their IDs and boarding passes ready while waiting in the TSA line.
