Centerlines - June 2008 - (Page 22)

PLANNING FOR SUCCESS B Y JODI R IC H A R DS PASSENGER FOCUS Des Moines International Airport avoids repetition of ‘nightmare’ experience he Democratic presidential caucus of 2004 is one Des Moines International Airport (DSM) officials would rather forget. “It was a complete nightmare,” said Aviation Director Craig Smith. “We had wait times well over an hour. The [security] lines were the longest we’d ever seen at this airport. It was just a bad experience for the people who had to travel out of here.” Because of that, the airport took special care in planning for the January 2008 caucus, which was an even larger event because it included both political parties. “We made it an absolute point to make sure that it was going to be a good experience—we planned for it and the plan worked,” Smith said. The airport’s commitment to planning led to a successful event for the Iowa airport. An average enplanement at Des Moines is about 2,700 passengers a day, according to spokesman Roy Criss. On Friday, Jan. 4, the day after the caucus, the airport saw more than 4,300 enplanements—a nearly 50 percent increase, which would pose challenges for any airport. The planning process started by looking at the lessons learned from Des Moines’ 2004 experience, Smith explained, what worked and what didn’t work. The planning efforts were made even more challenging because the actual date of the caucus wasn’t decided until late December. “That was part of the struggle with planning for it—just having the right date,” Smith said. The airport administration met with tenants, including concessionaires, airlines, rental car agencies, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and airport police, in early December 2007 to review the 2004 experience, said Ken McCoy, airport operations manager. The airport also asked tenants to look at their operations to see what they could do to improve the experience this time around, such as ensuring they had all of the necessary infrastructure and personnel in place to handle the increased trafﬁc. Rental car agencies were asked to make sure they had sufﬁcient vehicles available as well as staff to move the vehicles from point A to point B. TSA stepped up to increase its stafﬁng and the airlines provided the airport and T “WE made it an absolute point to make sure that it was going to be a good experience— we planned for it and the plan worked.” — Craig Smith, Des Moines aviation director 22 CENTERLINES | JUNE 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Centerlines - June 2008

Centerlines - June 2008 Contents President’s Message Canadian Airports Associates’ Corner Guest Column On the Hill and On the Stump Policy Center Cover Story: Hotter Than Last July? Revenue Arena: Building Non-Aeronautical Revenue Environment: Wind Turbines at Boston Logan Passenger Focus: Des Moines Deals with the Iowa Caucuses Safety and Security: Inline Explosives Detection Systems Air Service Recruitment: Holding on to What You’ve Got On Management: Managing Capital Programs Now Underway Grand Opening Conference Previews and Reviews New Members Index of Advertisers/Advertiser.com Box Scores

Centerlines - June 2008

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