Dallas-Fort Worth Airport Making TSA Checkpoints More Comfortable

The next time you’re flying through Dallas or Charlotte, N.C., you might get confused about whether you’re at airport security or in a hotel lobby.

Both airports are trying out redesigned security checkpoints with a little more flair than we’re used to, CNNMoney says. Sponsored by Marriott’s SpringHill Suites and peppered with ads for the chain, they include:

• Monitors displaying an estimated wait time to pass through security.
• Upbeat music and mood lighting.
• “Professional announcements play[ed] from overhead targeted speakers,” so officials don’t have to shout at people to take their shoes and belts off a dozen times in earshot of you.
• A “recomposure area” past the checkpoint with leather couches, mirrors, and foot bars for retying shoes.

“Pictures of lush green ferns, pink flowers and a blue cascade of water try to add a Zen-like feel,” The Wall Street Journal says. “New bins for personal belongings are decorated with similar images and are 20 percent larger so people won’t use as many.”

The company behind the idea, SecurityPoint Media, is also behind airport fixtures you’re already familiar with, CNNMoney says — the (less pretty) plastic bins that carry your stuff through the X-ray machines, and the storage carts you push to get it all there.

“Why shouldn’t a checkpoint be appointed with the style of a four-star hotel lobby?” company CEO Joseph Ambrefe told CNNMoney. Because people just want to get through security as quickly as possible and have no intention of loitering, I’d answer.

But what about you? Would you take advantage of a checkpoint couch? Do you think the changes will make the process less stressful? Comment below or on our Facebook page.