urbanMSP

TSA plans to close airport hotel checkpoint in November, citing staffing concerns
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/10/2 ... g-concerns

Feels like a lot of this nonsense is because they really want everyone to just sign up for PreCheck or Global Entry.

can we just kick out tsa already?

No, we need them.

https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2019/11/06/tsa ... november-3

Over 300+ firearms packed and carry-ons?

Annoying that it is getting closed after the expense of a skyway, but it always seemed like a silly solution. It isn’t surprising that there isn’t enough traffic to support a checkpoint almost totally on hotel business. It seems like they should have built a slightly longer skyway around the post office to link up to the new parking ramp, with a continuing corridor to the existing Skyway checkpoint. This would have given more use to the underutilized skyway checkpoint, but it seems like it would also be more convenient for Hotel guests. They would have 24 hour a day access to the airport terminal as well as the Light Rail, instead of relying on a shuttle when the new hotel checkpoint isn’t open. When the existing skyway checkpoint is closed or for those checking bags, they could just catch the tram to the main terminal. Maybe a quick shuttle ride to the main terminal isn’t that big of a deal, but it seems inconvenient to me.

The hotel is effectively an island. We tried to get there before our flight to enjoy a meal. It took a while to find where the shuttle stops at the terminal, then we called the hotel to let them know we were there, and then we waited. And waited, and waited. After 15 minutes of waiting we left, assuming we might have to wait just as long to get back after our dinner. So I def agree there could be a walkway (underground/elevated) from the hotel to the LRT station, which connects to the people mover.

Honestly, I'm baffled about why the underground people mover wasn't extended to the other end of the new parking ramp. It would have given better access to that entire SE corner of the airport property for the current as well as potential future developments. Hotel would have been a clear winner.

The long term plan is to extend that skyway all of the way across to a future extended G Concourse.

Not related to the current discussion about the hotel and checkpoint:

I have navigated around terminal one a few different occasions. Do people actually use the B concourse? From the map, those gates seem super small. I understand the continued conversation about expanding the airport, but are all these gates currently used? Same question about the A gates.

All the times I have flown in and out of the airport, my flight always seem to be in either Concourse E or Concourse F. I believe I have flown out of Concourse G one time.


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Of course B concourse is used. It's for regional travel.

The A and B concourses were originally developed back when Northwest was flying a lot of Saab 340's to small markets across the upper midwest. These planes couldn't utilize the jetbridges at the other gates designed for bigger planes, and it wouldn't make sense to take up a full sized gate for these smaller planes.

The CRJ-200's are now the smallest plane that's currently flying for Delta (actually only contract flying for Delta), and as I understand it, the bigger CRJ's won't fit double loaded on the alley between the A and B concourses, so something's going to have to give there eventually.

Tweet yesterday from Kyle Potter (Thrifty Traveler):

@mspairport Executive Director Brian Ryks says
@Delta CEO Ed Bastian recently assured regional leaders that final news on the MSP-Shanghai nonstop is coming soon.
“They didn’t give us a date but said it would be in the not-too-distant future”

I had flights to both New Jersey and Chicago on Delta this year that flew out of the B concourse. Sadly the New Jersey flight had been scheduled on a new A220 out of the C concourse but was delayed (because EWR is *always* delayed) and so I switched to a CRJ-900 flight out of the B concourse. I'd been looking forward to trying out an A220 so much that I'd upgraded my seat and was scheduled for a reasonably nice dinner on the A220. At least Delta refunded me my upgrade fee (unprompted).

Note that while few B concourse gates facing the A concourse are even set up, the ones facing the tarmac are fairly heavily used, some by local and regional airlines, but at least one appears to be used for quasi-charter flights.

Honestly to me the B concourse feels a lot like the Humphrey Terminal. It's a strange place to be because it's like a tiny terminal within the security zone of the main terminal. You feel like you're in a little regional airport, and with Humphrey's recent expansions I think it actually feels smaller than Humphrey.

MAC is paying to reopen the hotel checkpoint

I understand the desire to have an easy access point for hotel guests. That makes sense.

I can't understand why they didn't provide some way to get from the hotel to the main terminal without getting into a car/shuttle bus of some kind. I thought the point of a hotel airport was to avoid the need for shuttles and rental cars. Also, how do workers get there?

The Post Office is currently in the way of making the obvious connections you and others are discussing, but the Post Office goes away in the long term plans.

For the savvy travelers most likely to stay at the hotel, avoiding the main terminal is a feature, not a bug.

For the savvy travelers most likely to stay at the hotel, avoiding the main terminal is a feature, not a bug.

How do you figure? When I've stayed at the fancy on-airport hotels, it's been because I'm flying home in the morning or in for meetings and quickly back out again. Who is staying at the airport hotel that doesn't want to easily get to and from the terminal?

Who is staying at the airport hotel that doesn't want to easily get to and from the terminal?

You want to get to your airplane. If you can avoid the terminal and all of its congestion and get directly to your airplane, that's a big plus. And that's what a staffed TSA checkpoint at the hotel allows for.

I can't understand why they didn't provide some way to get from the hotel to the main terminal without getting into a car/shuttle bus of some kind.

A pedestrian path will be available once construction of the new Silver Ramp and the new Transit Center is complete next year.

http://m.startribune.com/sun-country-e ... 565986701/

Sun Country starting a route to Vancouver next summer.