"Helena, Mont., Airport Travelers Adjust to New Security Realities"

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Helena, Mont., Airport Travelers Adjust to New Security Realities
The Helena (MT) Independent Record


Two years removed from the attacks of Sept. 11, Helena's frequent flyers
have settled into what Helena Regional Airport manager Ron Mercer calls "the
new normal."

"I can't say it's back to the way it was before, but people have adjusted on
both sides, both the passenger side and the operations side," he said.

Tim Orthmeyer, an engineer with Morrison Maierle who flies commercially at
least once or twice a month, is one of those who have weathered the
adjustments.

"I think it's getting more seamless," Orthmeyer said. "It seems to me that
it's almost as easy as it was two years ago. I'm not feeling a lot of
inconvenience any more."

Still, long gone are the days of pulling up to the terminal at 6:25 a.m. for
a 6:30 flight. But time and practice have smoothed the new traveling
experience for many who frequent the airport. 

In many ways, Helena's air travel industry seems to have bounced back after
the 9/11 disruptions. While there were service cuts at first, the number of
commercial flights is back to about what it was two years ago, although some
full-size jets have been replaced by smaller regional planes.

And the airport is set to embark on an ambitious, $11 million expansion of
the terminal building -- a project whose plans were completely redrawn after
9/11 to accommodate the new security requirements. 

It's been about 10 months since airports were required to electronically
screen all checked baggage for explosives. At the Helena airport, that means
passengers must turn around after check-in to have bags screened at
cumbersome machines that dominate the lobby. Once the terminal expansion is
complete, the baggage screening will take place behind the check-in
counters.

"The traveling public that regularly flies has become accustomed to the
changes in the screening process," said Bert Obert, deputy federal security
director at the airport. "We have noticed there are some people who don't
fly much or who haven't flown in a while who still have some issues,
wondering why they can't take certain things on the plane, which is fine."

Obert oversees a staff of 26 full- and part-time Transportation Safety
Administration employees at the airport charged with screening baggage and
passengers for every commercial flight. In a backward way, the heightened
security has made the airport more efficient. Since people no longer can
expect to show up five minutes before a flight and just walk on board,
travelers are getting to the airport earlier and more flights are leaving on
time, Mercer said. Leisure travel patterns that changed immediately after
the attacks have remained altered, according to Betsy Baumgart, coordinator
of the Travel Montana program.

"One of the things we're continuing to notice is more regionalized travel.
People are still staying closer to home," she said. "We're also seeing a lot
more late booking or no booking at all. People are a lot more likely to just
walk in without a reservation." 

In addition to traveling without reservations being easier by car, Baumgart
believes that people know there are often better deals available to those
who wait until the last minute. As a result of seeing more regional travel
during the past two years, Baumgart said her office has shifted its
promotional efforts slightly, focusing more on in-state travel and drawing
visitors from neighboring states and less on luring tourists from the East
Coast. 

Two years later, Baumgart said that, whether they realize it or not,
people's leisure travel patterns remain different than they were two years
ago.

"Whether they're consciously thinking about 9/11 or whether it's in their
subconscious, people's values have changed," she said. "People want to be
closer to home, and want to be with their families."


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