Has Longest Security Lines Among US Airports

The Transportation Security Administration's handling of security lines are being blamed for transforming Denver International Airport from a place with some of the shortest waits in the nation... to one with some of the longest lines during fiscal year 2007.

"We used to be the bottom two-thirds of wait times and we've increased significantly from that," airport spokeswoman Sally Covington told the Rocky Mountain News.

Officials are looking for ways to solve the problem before the busy holiday season gets into full swing. Last December, fliers boarding at Denver waited 2.5 hours to get through security, beating even second-place JFK.

Colorado's congressional delegation is pressuring the TSA, which responds it's not simply a matter of increasing personnel.

"It wasn't just staffing vs. volume of passengers," said TSA spokeswoman Sterling Payne. "We realize we have some challenges in Denver, so we sent some optimization teams there . . . to make it more efficient. Since we put these measures into place, we have had a reduction in wait times."

The TSA did offer a few helpful tips to get through the lines quicker, according to the News. Try to travel during off-peak times, for example, or plan to arrive at least two hours early. Passengers should also avoid the south screening area at DEN, where lines are longest, and instead use Concourse A, where they're shortest.

Also, passengers should leave their weapons at home. That should be a no-brainer... but, then again, there shouldn't be a need for "Caution! Contents Hot!" warnings on McDonald's coffee, either...

And, last but not least -- if you're a guy and you see an attractive woman ahead in line, do not say, "She's da bomb!" Because, apparently, screening slows to a crawl if you haven't updated your vocabulary in 15 years.

FMI: www.tsa.gov, www.flydenver.com