Launceston Airport general manager Paul Hodgen  said yesterday that putting in a new line had to be implemented by the airlines and  it would not be a quick or simple fix.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said that on the upside, it was a good problem to have as it showed that visitor numbers to the state were steadily increasing.

The costly process of adding an additional screening line could see an increase in airfares or a loss of flights to cover the costs.

‘‘We are approaching the point when an additional line is going to be necessary but that needs agreement from all of the airlines involved,’’ Mr Hodgen said.

‘‘We’ve made a lot of changes since May of last year ... we put in new equipment, new roller beds, we have improved the signage all to try and get the greatest amount possible out of that single line.

In January, Launceston Airport recorded about 1100 incidents of restricted items being presented at the X-ray station, and each incident caused a hold-up for about two minutes while staff were forced to search the baggage manually.

‘‘Customers need to pay attention to the signage and to the audio that’s telling them what is acceptable and what’s not,’’ Mr Hodgen said. ‘‘I have no doubt that the screening staff are putting through far more passengers than we ever had.’’

Mr Martin said more people generally visit Tasmania in the lead-up to Easter but longer lines at the airport are not expected to deter tourists from visiting the state.

‘‘At the end of the day, people don’t just decide where they want to go on the basis of the experiences at the airport.

‘‘I expect that over the next four to six weeks it’s going to be quite busy in and around the state.

‘‘It’s a challenge but it’s a good challenge to have,’’ he said.

Launceston Airport is now midway through stage-one of the $11 million Runway Overlay Project with the second stage due to be completed by mid-year.