"Higher alert means tighter airport security"

Saturday, February 8, 2003

Higher alert means tighter airport security
Charlotte/Douglas decreases drop-off time, increases ID checks
BY ANDREW SHAIN
The Charlotte (NC) Observer


Air travelers should expect heavier security -- and more delays -- at the
nation's airports under the higher terror alert level the federal government
announced Friday.

And restrictions probably will be tightened more if the United States
launches an attack on Iraq.

Starting today at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, motorists will be
asked not to idle for more than a few moments while picking up and dropping
off passengers.

More police officers will patrol near the front doors and ticket counters,
airport Aviation Director Jerry Orr said.

Travelers will have to show their identification more often, said Dwain
Wilkins, spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration in
Charlotte.

More passengers will face random searches at the gate, and screeners at the
walk-through metal detectors will spend more time questioning passengers
flagged by routine checks, Wilkins said.

Those mirror steps taken after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when
hijackers used passenger jets as bombs.

But other precautions taken right after the attacks, such as banning
curbside check-in and inspecting cars entering the hourly parking deck near
the passenger terminal, aren't back in place.

Passengers should add another 30 minutes to their arrival time at the
Charlotte airport, Orr and Wilkins suggested.

Using guidelines listed by US Airways, the airport's dominant airline, that
means arriving 90 minutes early at most times and two hours early on
Saturday and Monday mornings, when screening lines are longest.

Travel experts say passengers might experience even longer screening delays
at the nation's larger airports, including New York's LaGuardia,
Washington's Reagan National, Atlanta's Hartsfield, Chicago's O'Hare and Los
Angeles International.

Federal authorities would not discuss whether they will raise threat levels
if a war starts, or increase restrictions at airports.

Travel experts say a war probably would halt curbside check-in, restrict
parking, increase car inspections and heighten passenger screenings --
precautions taken during the Gulf War 12 years ago.

"The threat level will be higher" than during the Gulf War or after Sept.
11, said Paul Hudson, executive director of the Aviation Consumer Action
Project, a Washington-based advocacy group. "Expect more delays ... if
security levels are heightened. Expect more searching done and more checking
of picture IDs."

Travelers already are keeping a close watch on all the war talk.

Travel agents and experts say reservations, especially for this summer, have
dropped as vacationers wait to see how long the war lasts.

"Our biggest problem is that we have this cloud hanging over us and no one
wants to make plans until this is resolved," said Gary Silverstein,
president of Charlotte's Mann Travel.

Analysts predict attacks could start as early as March. Negotiations could
prevent conflict or just delay fighting -- pushing the war's start closer to
the travel-heavy spring break/Easter week in mid-April.

Prolonged combat could hurt the even-busier summer vacation season. More
travelers are booking just before their vacations instead of months out.

"There's more of a chill than in the past," said Joe Brancatelli, an online
travel writer.

Waiting to book might not be a bad idea for bargain hunters -- airlines
could offer fare sales to fill seats after a war, Brancatelli said.
Airlines, trying to cope with severe falloff in traffic, already are
offering some discounts.

If a war starts, it's possible passengers might not see long lines. In the
early days of the Gulf War, passenger loads dropped 30 percent to 40
percent, Brancatelli said.

That war primarily slowed international travel. This time travel within the
States could suffer as well.

"In the past, we could say domestic (travel) was safer," Hudson said. "After
9/11, we can't say that's the case."

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