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Hotel program makes airports the destination The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently authorized Grand Hyatt DFW, a hotel adjoining the state-of-the-art Terminal D at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), to implement a pilot program that gives qualified hotel guests access to DFW’s wide array of retail shops, restaurants and other businesses. The full name of the program, GI regrets to report, is the “Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Access Authorization to Commercial Establishments beyond the Screening Checkpoint Pilot Program,” more mercifully the “AAACE program.” The program requires hotel guests to go through the normal security screening required at the airport and is limited to registered overnight guests at Grand Hyatt DFW. It is being conducted by the TSA in cooperation with the hotel and the DFW Airport Board, which operates the airport. The Westin Hotel at Detroit Metro Airport has also recently opted to try the program, which TSA offers on a voluntary basis. The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTA) opposes the program, saying that it will lengthen security lines at airports and increase the delays now experienced by business travelers. ACTE has also suggested that it will undermine airport security, a concern that has been dismissed by aviation security expert Doug Laird.
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