As of June 1, select passengers flying out of Boston’s Logan International Airport won’t go through TSA lines at the airport, in a first-of-its-kind pilot program that will screen some passengers through a “remote terminal” instead.
The remote terminal will be based in Framingham, Massachusetts, approximately 25 miles away from the airport. Once fliers check in, drop their checked bags, and go through security check at the Framingham facility, they will board a bus that will drop them off at a special entrance at Logan beyond the regular security checkpoint. Landline, a third-party contractor that offers shuttle services connecting smaller regional airports to major flight hubs in Pennsylvania and Illinois, will manage the program. The bus will cost $9 one way, and parking at the facility will be $7 a day.
Since the project is only being piloted for now, it will have limited availability with plans to expand in the future if deemed successful. For now, though, only passengers flying on Delta or JetBlue flights between the hours of 5:30 am and 4 pm will be able to use the service.
Travelers will be able to reserve their spots on Massport’s website, as early as 90 days and as late as 90 minutes before departure.
“Imagine arriving at the airport having already checked in and cleared security and then being dropped off just steps from your gate,” Massport CEO Rich Davey said in a press release. “This is the kind of stress-free process we’re working to make a reality for everyone.”
With the program, TSA aims to provide some relief to mounting security lines at airports. During the partial government shutdown earlier this year, travelers experienced the longest airport security lines in the 24-year history of the TSA.
For Massport, there is also the added goal of easing Boston’s notorious traffic congestion through offering what they hope will be a more viable option to taking an expensive Uber or paying for airport parking.
Last year, 22% of passengers traveling through Boston’s airport used a “high-occupancy vehicle” such as the local train service or the express bus service, Massport said in the press release. With this initiative, the agency is hoping to increase that number and alleviate some congestion in the city.
The program will be a major test, with implications for not just Boston area air travelers but also potentially the entire country.
The Framingham facility is near a bus stop along the Logan Express Bus and if the pilot program is deemed successful, the remote terminal screening could spread to other major bus stops along that route, according to previous reporting by CBS.
But the program will also be a major test with implications that go beyond air travelers flying through the Boston metropolitan area.
TSA’s acting deputy administrator Adam Stahl told the Wall Street Journal last year that down the road, off-site screening could take place at cruise-line facilities or even Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. If the Massport pilot program is a success, it could become a blueprint for airports across the country.
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