It's the longest airport checkpoint wait in the state, but it's still only about how long it would take to make a box of stuffing on the stove.

Thanksgiving travelers flying out of Rapid City Regional Airport had to wait 11 minutes last year, the longest in the state to get through airport security, and two minutes longer than in 2006, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

Passengers should expect a similar wait time this year, said Bob Baker, TSA assistant federal security director at the airport.

According to TSA data reviewed by Gannett News Service, the Sioux Falls airport ranked second in South Dakota with a six-minute wait time.

Rapid City's lone security lane is the bottleneck that keeps passengers waiting longer on average than at Sioux Falls, said airport Executive Director Cameron Humphres.

While a concourse expansion that would add another security lane is in the works, Humphres said everyone at the airport is doing the best they can to get passengers through speedily.

"I think they've done everything they can to make that as efficient as possible. We just need to get to the place where we have two lanes," Humphres said. "Nobody likes to wait in those lines; they're no fun for anybody. So obviously we want to reduce it to the minimum time possible."

Average peak wait times at Denver International Airport and Chicago Midway Airport during the 2007 Thanksgiving week averaged about 9 minutes, while passengers had to wait about 15 minutes in Phoenix and at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

Sioux Falls, the best airport for comparison due to its passenger numbers, has two security lanes, Humphres said. That allows passengers there to get through the lines much more quickly.

Despite last year's wait time, things are looking up. Concerned about lengthening wait times, Rapid City airport officials asked the TSA to take a look at the security lane and optimize its operation.

In addition, new baggage scanners for checked luggage will free some TSA personnel and speed things at the security checkpoint by Christmas, said the TSA's Baker.

The $4.5 million terminal expansion in the works will add an additional 8,000-10,000 square feet of space and allow for an additional security lane.

Rapid City's airport terminal was built 20 years ago to handle 500,000 passengers. This year could bring closer to 600,000 passengers, said the airport's former Executive Director Mason Short in August.

While airport numbers were trending higher earlier this year, October passenger totals were flat compared to last year. Humphres expects that trend to continue through the end of the year, which should ease the pressure on the lone checkpoint.

"So that should all help lower the wait time," he said.

According to the Gannett report, passengers had to wait about four minutes in Watertown and three minutes in Pierre and Aberdeen. None of the state's airports had the wait times of some U.S. airports, where it could take passengers as long as 26 minutes to enter security.

As always, the TSA's Baker said, passengers should remember to get to the airport well ahead of departure times to avoid adding to bottleneck delays.

"The key is having people show up early," he said.

Call Jeremy Fugleberg at 394-8421 or e-mail him at jeremy.fugleberg@rapidcityjournal.com