"Airline passengers cope with modern security"

Saturday, September 9, 2006

Airline passengers cope with modern security
Longer waits have become a part of flying since 9-11
By DAVE HANEY
The Peoria (IL) Journal Star


PEORIA - Jim Cote remembers the days of flying into Peoria and greeting his
family the minute he stepped off the plane.
"My kids would be waiting for me at the gate with hugs," Cote said.

Five years ago, before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, most
Americans paid little attention to airport security. 

Welcome to the new normal.

Despite today's advanced and intrusive methods of screening - with an
estimated $2.5 million to $3 million spent upgrading Peoria's airport - many
travelers seem to be growing more accepting. 

"Flying certainly is not as pleasurable as it used to be, and since 9-11,
the security is pretty much a given, but it's become a part of flying, a
part of life now," said Cote, a frequent business traveler.

Airline passengers check in and then watch as Transportation Security
Administration employees heave their luggage onto explosive detecting
equipment and dig through the contents. Posted signs announce what not to
take on the plane, where not to stand and an armed airport security guard
watches the front doors - eyes scanning side to side.

Just another typical day at the airport. 

A bit farther inside the terminal, a line forms at the security checkpoint
where passengers can be seen pulling out both personal identification and
airline tickets. Beyond, others pull off shoes, send more personal items
through X-ray 

machines and are waved through metal detectors. 

"It's a little more of a hassle, but under the circumstances, I think it's
worth it," said Jerry Seibert of Springfield, who was flying out of Peoria
with a final destination in Montana. 

The strict security has proved trying for some.

"I've seen ladies, just recently, who had to dump over $100 in perfume to
get on the plane," Cote said. "Sometimes it can get quite comical."

For Kim Jordan of Dallas, the biggest hassle has been waiting in line.

"We had to change my 13-month-old grandchild's diaper while in line, and
that was just to get to the security checkpoint," said Jordan, recalling a
flight she took out of Denver. 

Joann Kempthorne of Peoria, a former airline attendant, said half the
passengers missed the plane she was on in Seattle two years ago because of
security lines.

"I don't believe it's any safer, the screening is still too general -
there's still loopholes," Kempthorne said. "They're not profiling the way
they probably should. At least that's what I think." 

Tom Ferris of Bettendorf said security screeners could take another step to
further tighten security by "profiling better," he said. "You see them pull
some farmer's wife from Peoria out of the line to check out. Come on. Use
common sense. They're nothing to worry about."

Said Jim Hanson of Milan, as he waited to take the same flight to Las Vegas:
"If some whack job is going to blow up a plane, it's out of our hands. But
I'm not going to be controlled by fear like that."

Others at the airport agreed.

"(The recent airline crash) in Lexington (Ky.) is probably on my wife's mind
more - a pilot error problem - than a terrorist threat," said Kevin Richard
of Henderson, Ky., also headed to Las Vegas.

Still, most air travelers seem to feel the nation's airports are safer.

"I feel safe," Jordan said. "But that day - Sept. 11 - that's when I'm
flying home. It gives me an uneasy feeling."

Judy Thompson of Peoria, bound for Chicago and onto Phoenix, said 9-11 never
stopped her from flying.

"I flew Sept. 17, 2001, so I'm not worried - flying is just more
inconvenient than anything. I was up until 10 o'clock last night on the
computer looking at what I can and can't take." 

Stan Cook of Washington, a frequent traveler, says the U.S. is starting to
catch up with the way many European countries have operated their airports
for decades.

"Can you imagine everyone being patted down? The public would be pretty
upset," Cook said. 

Many complaints from air travelers were "inconsistencies" they said existed
in the screening process from airport to airport.

"I never go outside the security gate when changing planes because I'm
afraid I'll have trouble getting back through with everything," Thompson
said.

Cote noted some airports require passengers to take their laptops out of
cases, while others do not. And the recent ban on liquids has sent him
repacking.

"Instead of packing shaving cream, I've turned to using a solid," he said. 

Among the noticeable changes at Peoria's airport are restrictions on anyone
but ticketed passengers from entering gate areas; more frequent hand
searches of carry-on luggage; more security workers; and more sophisticated
machines.

The volume of seizures have diminished as of late, officials say, as
passengers have become used to the limits and as the Federal Aviation
Administration issued guidelines on specific items that are banned as
carry-ons.

"It's a changing environment," says Bob Schlesinger, TSA's deputy federal
security director at Peoria. 

When "shoe bomber" Richard Reid's plan failed, passengers were resigned to
peeling off shoes. Last year, it was cigarette lighters. After last month's
foiled plot in the U.K. to blow up American-bound planes, all liquids and
gels are now banned.

Older X-ray machines with black and white monitors have been exchanged for
more advanced color models; enhanced walk-through metal detectors and
additional hand-held detectors were purchased; new machines screen checked
baggage; and new explosive trace detectors are in place. 

"There's a lot more layers to it," said Schlesinger, a former pilot for Sun
Country until the Minneapolis-based airline went bankrupt shortly after
2001. 

For Traci Martin, a security screener who was employed prior to Sept. 11,
2001, and who now works for TSA, says while there are differences in her
job, it's mostly the passengers who have changed.

"They seem more informed. They don't want to get caught with their pants
down," she said, noting most already know what they can and can't take
aboard planes. 

"'Do I look like a terrorist?' That's a question I get sometimes that I
didn't hear before," Martin adds. "Still, most are a little pleasant about
it. Sometimes I feel a little guilty with what I have to take from people,
but it's my job."

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