American Airlines and TSA Make a Bet on Smaller Airports to Bypass Long Security Lines

The Transportation Security Administration will allow American Airlines passengers traveling via bus from two smaller airports to bypass security screening at Philadelphia International Airport and be driven directly to the passenger terminal.

The announcement Wednesday by American and The Landline Co., which operates regional motorcoach services for three U.S. airlines, caps years of bureaucratic finagling for the TSA to allow Landline’s coaches to be considered a secure environment.

Under the arrangement, American passengers traveling from airports in Allentown/Bethlehem or Atlantic City, N.J., can be screened at those airports, board Landline and then be driven to the secure “airside” terminal at the Philadelphia airport. American passengers will enter the airport directly in the terminal and head to their departure gate.

If the Landline bus opens its door en route to Philadelphia, passengers will need to be screened by TSA at the airport to ensure security. Gary Tomasulo, American’s vice president of corporate security, called the TSA agreement a “first-of-its-kind milestone.”

The service “is a glimpse at the future of travel that Landline is creating, in which ground transportation is fully integrated into the travel day,” David Sunde, Landline’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. Travelers arriving into Philadelphia bound for Allentown and Atlantic City already board the Landline coaches on the secured airside.

“We have put in numerous security requirements for the bus operators and all airline personnel to ensure robust security protocols are followed at all times,” said Gerardo Spero, the TSA Federal Security Director in Philadelphia.

The companies said the new airside connections also will help the TSA to reduce screening volumes at Philadelphia, where American has about 45 percent market share, followed by Frontier and Spirit, with a combined 20 percent.

Landline began service in 2019 in Minnesota, and carries regional passengers for United in Denver and Sun Country Airlines in Minneapolis. The buses have 35 seats with Wi-Fi, power at each seat and streaming entertainment.