Transforming the TSA experience

Myrtle Beach International Airport is one of the busiest airports in South Carolina, with more than 2 million passengers served each year. The Gateway to the Grand Strand is the main airport serving Myrtle Beach, a city which accommodates more than 15 million tourists each year.

Myrtle Beach International Airport struggled with long lines for TSA screening during its busiest times of the year.

Travelers had grown frustrated with the wide variations in the length of wait times at the TSA screening checkpoint. Wait times in the facility were wildly inconsistent due to a lack of staffing and TSA screening lanes for the number of passengers in the facility, especially during the summer.

Management in the facility tracked wait times by hand to gather data on the increased wait times but sought a more comprehensive solution using technology.

Myrtle Beach International Airport approached Archetype SC about a solution to track TSA wait times for its their travelers. After discussing the challenges in tracking in the space and budgetary constraints, Archetype SC worked to develop and deploy A2 Analytics, a solution that would be affordable, accurate, and durable.

The technology combined sensors, machine learning algorithms, software, and reporting capabilities into one package to deliver deep insights. The device is housed in a heavy plastic case, which is locked to prevent tampering, to track thousands of data points per second within inches of the signal source.

Through passive tracking of the data from mobile phones and hundreds of other electronics devices, A2 Analytics tracked the precise movement of nearly every individual passenger.

After deploying A2 Analytics technology, Archetype SC tracked wait times atMyrtle Beach International Airport to within seconds of hand-recorded times during one of the busiest travel seasons on record for the facility.

Airport staff used data gathered by A2 Analytics in a presentation to TSA, which resulted in an investment in the facility by the agency. TSA placed two additional screening machines, an extra lane for general TSA screening, additional staff, and the allocation for an additional percentage of overtime for staff.

Going further with its investment in A2 Analytics, Myrtle Beach International Airport now has TSA wait times information embedded on the homepage of its website, giving visitors to flymyrtlebeach.com information on the wait times for TSA PreCheck and general screening lanes.