You want tight checking in playoff hockey. But it's the last thing officials want to see at Pittsburgh International Airport Monday.

That's why airport officials are urging travelers to arrive at least 90 minutes ahead of their departures that morning, fearing that Penguins playoff traffic, Mother's Day and the usual business rush will produce big crowds and long waits without proper preparation.

They estimate that some 5,000 travelers could go through the airport's security checkpoints between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Monday, rivaling the crowds that occurred after the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star game, last year's U.S. Open golf tournament and the Monday after Thanksgiving.

"We just don't want anyone to be caught off guard," said JoAnn Jenny, a spokeswoman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

On a typical Monday, the checkpoints usually handle 3,500 to 4,000 travelers, she said.

The airport will operate the main security checkpoint on the transit level of the landside building and a secondary one on the ticketing level a floor above to handle the expected crush.

Ms. Jenny said officials hope to keep the longest wait Monday to no more than 15 minutes. But that will only happen if "people are planning ahead, allowing extra time and being prepared when they come to the airport," she said.

Also yesterday, the airport authority board signed off on $5 million in tax increment financing for a proposed warehouse and cargo development near the airport.

The money will be used to fund a 3,000-foot access road from the cargo interchange of Route 60, to install sewer and water lines and other utilities, and to mitigate impact on wetlands and streams.

All three taxing bodies -- West Allegheny School District, Findlay and Allegheny County -- have approved the financing, under which 75 percent of new tax revenue will be diverted to pay off the TIF.

Dallas-based Trammell Crow has an agreement with the airport authority to build up to seven warehouses at what is known as the Northfield site. The new Dick's Sporting Goods headquarters will be built adjacent to the development but is not involved in the TIF in any way, said Randy Forister, the authority's senior director of development.

The site work is expected to start in June and be completed in a year.