Some Travelers Stuck in Long Airport Lines

December 25, 2003

Some Travelers Stuck in Long Airport Lines
Some Travelers Find Long Security Lines and Canceled Flights at Airports 
Nationwide

The Associated Press

ATLANTA Dec. 25 — Holiday airport headaches subsided on Christmas Day for the 
most part, but some unlucky travelers found long security lines and canceled 
flights. 
Air France flights between Los Angeles and Paris were canceled for a second 
straight day on Thursday, after American authorities notified France that 
suspicious people were planning to board the flights. The airline said flights 
were to resume normal service Friday.

A lack of flight attendants forced Delta Air Lines to delay or cancel 33 of its 
more than 6,000 flights Thursday, company spokesman Joshua Smith said.

The problem affected the Atlanta-based airline systemwide, but by early 
afternoon all the passengers who missed their flights were rebooked on Delta or 
other airlines, said spokesman Joshua Smith.

Smith said he did not know why the flight attendants were not available. "It 
could have been the flu," he said.

Overall, the nation's airports reported few delays on Christmas Day, 
traditionally a calm day amid a holiday storm of travelers. Security has been 
tightened with more extensive checks, car inspections and other measures since 
Sunday, when the nation's terror alert status was raised to orange, the 
second-highest level.

"We're doing a lot of things behind the scenes that the passengers don't see," 
said Sharon Sears, spokeswoman for Dayton (Ohio) International Airport. (But) 
we haven't had any problems with security procedures," she said.

Officials at major airports in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles reported no 
delays aside from the Air France cancellations.

Many travelers were understanding about the extra security.

In Philadelphia, Spc. Gregg Bly was waiting in the airport Thursday while 
traveling from Iraq to see his family in Columbus, Ohio. It was his first trip 
back to the States since January.

"I figured on a Christmas Day there wouldn't be too many people traveling, but 
the lines were long," said Bly, a transportation fuel hauler in the Army 
Reserves. "But I had no problems with security. It's great that they have the 
security going now, compared to the past."

Officials worried that terrorists might try to use biological, chemical or 
radiological weapons installed more sensors around urban areas in California 
and elsewhere to detect dangerous microbes in the air.

The U.S. Coast Guard has upped its surveillance to 24 hours a day at ports such 
as San Francisco, where foreign merchant ships dock daily.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall said 28 helicopters and planes 
were flying patrols over electrical grids, aqueducts, major bridges, power 
plants and state buildings.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the patrols because of the national terror 
alert, Marshall said.

 
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