Airports clog; passengers told to scrap liquids
Posted on Friday, August 11, 2006
In Arkansas, security bottlenecks developed at peak traffic times but dissolved as passengers
ditched shampoo, toothpaste and water.
Travelers waited in long lines at airport security checkpoints Thursday after British authorities announced the arrests of 24 people believed connected to a plot to detonate liquid bombs onboard commercial aircraft headed for the United States.
Near the checkpoints, bins quickly filled with confiscated water bottles and other items suddenly and indefinitely banned from being carried onto airliners.
U. S. authorities prohibited the carrying of liquids onto flights after the arrests, part of a suspected plot to blow up U. S.-bound planes using explosives disguised as drinks and other common products.
After early delays, most flights were on time Thursday afternoon at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill. But some passengers weren't thrilled with the new restrictions.
Kirk Bittle heard he needed to get to the airport earlier than usual Thursday, but he didn't know why.
After he realized his toothpaste and other toiletries would be thrown away or placed in luggage inspected by security personnel, he said he'd rather throw his belongings away than risk losing his suitcase in transit. "I'm p *****,"Bittle said, standing in line for his United Airways flight. "No way am I checking my bag."Bill Leopard arrived at the airport about 10: 30 a.m. for his noon flight to Greensboro, N. C. Leopard said he was told by co-workers that passengers were waiting for three hours in Atlanta. "I'm just throwing it [liquids ] away because I don't want to check my bags,"he said. At Fort Smith Regional Airport, passengers experienced slower lines to ticket counters. Officials advised travelers to arrive at the airport two hours
1 prior to domestic flights and 3 / 2 hours early if they were flying out of the country.
"You can't shift things around in Dallas if you are leaving from here to go international,"said Kent Penney, Fort Smith airport's director. "Travelers have been very accommodating."
The airport experienced no delays for any of its eight flights to Dallas and Memphis, he said.
STEPS TAKEN ELSEWHERE In other parts of the country, delays were longer and more drastic measures were taken. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sent the National Guard to help patrol Boston's Logan Airport for the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger activated the National Guard in California, and Gov. George Pataki in New York considered doing the same. "That's part of the price you pay for traveling during a time like this,"said Julius Ibraheem, 26, a college counselor from Chicago, as he stared at the long lines leading toward security checkpoints at O'Hare International Airport.
At Newark Airport in New Jersey, one security checkpoint line stretched the length of the terminal - roughly six football fields. At Baltimore / Washington Airport, security workers opened every carry-on bag that passed through one terminal, and all morning flights were delayed.
"It's better [being ] alive than dead,"said Bob Chambers, whose flight from Baltimore to Detroit for a business meeting was delayed more than an hour. "It's inconvenient, but we'll make it."
Travelers at Burlington International Airport in Vermont were forced to discard souvenir jugs of maple syrup. In New Orleans, half-used bottles of hot sauce lay in garbage bins.
"We are seeing a lot of interesting items being discarded,"said Michael McCarron, a spokesman at San Francisco International Airport. "Chanel No. 5, gallons and gallons of water, and some very fine Napa Valley wine."
U. S. authorities raised the threat level to "red"for flights from Britain, the first time the highest threat of a terrorist attack had been invoked since the system was created. All other flights were under an the orange alert - one step below red.
The terror scare disrupted airports around the world. In the United Kingdom, British Airways canceled more than 400 flights, mostly domestic, affecting as many as 400, 000 travelers, according to The Guardian.
'HECTIC AS HECK' Early-morning delays of up to 30 minutes at Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field, eased by midmorning. Some business travelers hoped to avoid snags by arriving long before their scheduled flights, and others found themselves flying into the airport several hours late from regional hubs. Little Rock airport authorities prohibited parking in front of the terminal and took other security measures to comply with the "orange"threat level issued by the federal government. Coretta Rolse, 44, of San Diego started her journey to Little Rock on Wednesday night before news of the British arrests broke. A two-hour delay in Atlanta brought her to Little Rock at 10: 30 a. m., only to find her mother had given up waiting for her and left. "I'm the holdup,"said an exhausted Rolse. Her family had gathered in town in advance of a family reunion in Shreveport, and she had a hand-written sign reading "Alderson Family"balanced on a summer hat for whatever distant relative was chosen to pick her up.
"In case I fall asleep,"she said.
Philip Launius, spokesman at the Little Rock airport, said airport staff began implementing security measures about 3 a.m.
Much of the airport's traffic occurs early in the morning, he said, and that's when the longest lines of about 40 minutes occurred at security checkpoints. About 2 p. m., he said, when traffic picked back up again, another bottleneck developed, but it dissolved quickly and was less severe than the morning wait.
"It was hectic as heck here early this morning,"said Sammy Buffin, wearing the redcoated uniform of the airport's customer-care representatives. "No beverages, no water, shampoos, lotion or hair gel,"he yelled as travelers lined up at the checkpoint around 11 p.m. Buff in, a customer-care manager, said baby formula and prescription medicine were exempt from the new rules.
GET USED TO IT Jeff Walker, a criminologist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said travelers will have to get used to the new rules. "It's going to slow things down, certainly for a short time anyway,"he said. "It's going to change the way security works because they're looking for different things."Walker, a member of the Air Force Reserves, is a terrorism expert. His counterintelligence work is done through the Office of Special Investigations, a 474-member division of the Air Force that conducts criminal and counterterrorism investigations. He said the "cat and mouse"game between terrorists and intelligence agencies continues as before and discounts theories that al-Qaida or other terrorist groups plan attacks to
com-9 memorate the / 11 attacks. "Al-Qaida is not real big on anniversaries,"he said. "They try to plan things as quickly as they can."In Little Rock, the last time the threat level reached orange was Dec. 21, 2003, lasting until Jan. 9, 2004, Launius said. The threat level was raised then because of intelligence reports that al-Qaida could be planning possible attacks around the holidays.
Despite the higher threat level, area travel agents said they hadn't been contacted by clients seeking to scrap summer vacation plans.
"Everyone is a little more concerned, but there haven't been any cancellations,"said Lane Blaylock, a travel agent at Sue Smith Vacations in North Little Rock.
Many travelers on Thursday simply endured the inconveniences as best they could.
Wendi Bergquist, 36, arrived in the early morning at the Little Rock airport hoping to get on a flight to Chicago and avoid long delays. She couldn't get a seat, so she settled into a chair and prepared for a long day of Web surfing and e-mailing on her laptop. Her flight was scheduled to depart at 5 p.m.
"It's fine; it's not a big deal,"said Bergquist, a software consultant who visits Little Rock frequently on business. "What can you do ?"Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press and Charlie Frago and Liz Boch of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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