SF Airport Officials: Arrive Two Hours Early

SIOUX FALLS, SD - If you're flying out of Sioux Falls soon, don't be late. A notice on the airport website and the signs near the airport recommend arriving two hours before departure. 

If you didn't look at the calendar, the lines at the Sioux Falls airport appear to be full of holiday travelers. But thanks to new security machines being installed, there's only one x-ray currently operating.

"In that transition, there will be a few days where we only have one x-ray unit at the checkpoint, half the capacity we normally would have," Sioux Falls Airport Director Dan Letellier said.

That's why Letellier and other officials are suggesting travelers arrive two hours early instead of the usual recommendation time of an hour and a half. The new Advanced Imaging Technology won't be completely installed until March 2 at the earliest.

"We just don't want to have people get anxious or even miss their flight because they had to wait in line during their checkpoint," Letellier said.

Airport officials admit it's been difficult getting the word out about the early arrival times. But travelers don't seem to mind.

"Security is security," traveler Glenn Bohmer said. "I don't really mind at all."

"As long as we make our flight, we have no problem," traveler Sally Bohmer said. "If we wait here or wait there, it doesn't matter."

One new machine is ready to start on Saturday, but airport technicians are still training. And while he knows it's a bit of an inconvenience for the time being, Letellier knows it'll make security more concrete in the long run.

"This equipment's rolling out to every airport, so every airport has to go through growing pains," Letellier said.

But once those pains have subsided, everyone can take off on a less time-consuming schedule.

Airport officials say if the security lines are short, travelers can take advantage of new restaurants and shops in the concourse.