TSA Weathers Denver Storms, Aids Stranded Travelers
News & Happenings
January 17, 2007
As back-to-back-to-back blizzards brought Denver to its knees during the busiest travel season of the year, TSA took extensive steps to keep passengers safe, secure and comfortable throughout an ordeal that left some employees and travelers stranded at the airport for days.
When the first of three storms hit on Wednesday, December 20, TSA was ready. “We made as many advance preparations as possible,” said Federal Security Director Pat Ahlstrom, Denver International Airport. “But we couldn’t have known that the airport would have to cease operations for a record 45 hours.”
By the next day, more than two feet of glistening powder covered the city, with drifts as high as eight feet at the airport. An estimated 4,700 passengers had spent a miserable night on the airport’s hard floors along with more than 100 TSA managers and Transportation Security Officers Some 2,000 passengers slept at the airport Thursday night.
During two long days, TSA maintained security and made life a little more tolerable for stranded passengers. The plasma screen at one checkpoint became a makeshift family theater. TSA allowed passengers to access one security checkpoint without a boarding pass, as long as they presented proper identification and went through the same security screening procedures as ticketed passengers.
“This gave stranded travelers an opportunity to access more restaurants, shops, and more comfortable sleeping arrangements out on the carpeted concourses – all without compromising security,” Ahlstrom said.
DEN also received assistance from Colorado Springs and National Screening Force personnel, who helped manage record-breaking crowds on December 23 through Christmas day.
But just as the airport started to recover, two more blizzards descended, and many TSA personnel remained at the airport around the clock.
“We were able to acquire cots, blankets and camping pads by the time the second storm hit,” Ahlstrom said. “We nicknamed our sleeping quarters – formerly known as conference rooms – Camp TSA. It was pretty primitive, but it was better than sleeping on the floor.”
