"Holiday Airport Security Stepped Up"

Friday, May 28, 2008

Holiday Airport Security Stepped Up 
The Associated Press 


WASHINGTON - The federal official in charge of the nation's airports
said Friday security has been "stepped up a notch" in the face of
renewed terror warnings this holiday weekend and said authorities are
asking the public to be vigilant. 

"If they see anything unusual, report it - an unattended package,
something that just doesn't look right, even odd behavior in the
terminal or on the aircraft," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said on
NBC's "Today" show. 

She said photographs of seven suspected terrorists released Wednesday by
the FBI "are everywhere" and that screeners have been redeployed to some
of the busiest airports in anticipation of heavy Memorial Day holiday
travel. 

"Certainly we are going to be on red alert looking for those
individuals," Blakey said on ABC's "Good Morning America." 

With 200 million people expected to fly over the summer months, she
cited a number of things travelers can do to make their trips easier and
quicker. 

"One of the first things I go to is my PDA, or telephone, because now we
have a brand new service, www.faa.gov/wireless ,and you can go on and
actually pick up what the story is at your airport before you go," she
said on NBC. "Are you running into any ground delays? Is there weather
to be aware of? In fact, you can go to your specific airline and see
what's the story on the flight. It lets you schedule, you're more in
control and it really does give you a way of understanding the situation
rather than just getting there and saying, `What's going on.'" 

The same information is available on the regular FAA Internet site for
people not using a wireless device such as a personal digital assistant
or cell phone.


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