Gate check-in is on its way out By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY The perk of picking up boarding passes at departure gates, a favorite with= =20 hurried fliers, is disappearing. The Transportation Security Administration= =20 has started a new system at six airports that forces all passengers =97 even= =20 those not checking bags =97 to obtain boarding passes before they go through= =20 security checkpoints. The agency plans to make the change nationwide next=20 year.The procedure moves back to the main checkpoints the more-thorough=20 screening now conducted at gates as passengers board planes. Boarding=20 passes are critical to the screening process: They carry coding that tells= =20 TSA inspectors which passengers must get the toughest scrutiny. Other=20 passengers also are picked at random for it.The TSA prefers the new system= =20 because it puts security in a more controlled environment. Airlines like=20 the change because last-minute gate searches sometimes delay flights. And=20 TSA, which has promised an easier time at the airport, says grumbling=20 frequent fliers should be pleased that they won't have to be checked=20 twice.TSA and airlines say there have no reports of longer-than-normal=20 check-in lines. The process has been working smoothly in part because=20 passengers can get boarding passes from self-service check-in machines=20 instead of at ticket counters. And the airlines and airports testing the=20 system have plenty of check-in capacity in the lobby.The airlines involved= =20 in the testing also are adding capacity. At Los Angeles, American plans to= =20 more than double its 12 self-service machines by Thanksgiving Day.Northwest= =20 has 94 machines in place in Detroit. Its passengers =97 and those on some=20 other airlines =97 also can get boarding passes via the Internet.Although no= =20 industry-wide number is available, Northwest says about 25% of its=20 passengers check in at the gate. About 37% use self-service machines and=20 Internet check-in, the airline says.Business fliers give the new procedure= =20 mixed reviews. "I think this really stinks," says Sammy Tawil of=20 Allenhurst, N.J., who was sent back for a boarding pass when he flew from=20 Newark this week.But Ed Nazarko of West Orange, N.J., says it's easy to=20 fake a printed itinerary, one way to get through security without a=20 boarding pass. "It's the biggest, ugliest hole in security out there." The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (chgdev) http://www.chagdev.com/ (Chaguaramas Development Authority) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************