"Chico airport has seen most obvious local changes since 9/11"

Monday, September 11, 2006

Chico airport has seen most obvious local changes since 9/11
By LAURA URSENY
The Oroville (CA) Mercury Register

 
Like no other place locally, operation of the Chico Municipal Airport has
changed drastically, with security increased to a level unimaginable before
the Sept. 11 attacks. Here, officials talk about some of the changes. 

It was something air travelers in Chico had never seen - the airport
terminal out of reach. 

By federal decree, no one could leave their car within 300 feet of the
airport terminal, just days after the World Trade Center attacks and after
flights resumed. Drivers had to stay with their cars. 

For Chico, that off-limit area meant most of the parking lot. 

As travelers lugged their bags to the terminal, they saw another first -
soldiers bearing rifles, standing guard. 

On Sept. 11, 2001, Chico's Municipal Airport became a different place, one
that hasn't returned to whatever normal used to be. 

Closed at 7 a.m. that day, the airport was thoroughly searched for weapons
or explosives, and police officers and private guards posted. 

For out-of-towners stranded by the closure, it was a place of desperation
and waiting. 

For those who had left the airport hours or weeks earlier and were stranded
somewhere else, it was a goal, a haven, a place to get back to. 

Other than what was happening behind the scenes with law enforcement, the
airport changes were probably the most visible umbilical cord Chico had to
the terrorist attacks. 

A travel agency with a desk at the airport was deluged with passenger calls,
and SkyWest passengers heard taped responses about canceled flights over and
over. 

It's said that when the airport finally reopened - Sept. 14 - and area
passengers came home, one woman cried when she walked back through the
terminal doors, just to be home again. 

Former city manager Tom Lando has strong recollections of the times. 

Before the National Guard soldiers were sent to the airport, Chico Police
officers were immediately assigned there. 

"In a place like Chico, someone with a weapon - a gun in a holster - at the
airport was unheard of." 

But it wasn't just the airport. Police patrols cruised the airport avenues,
and extra security was assigned to the police station. Even the station's
front door was locked - another first. 

"The police were trying to put themselves in the terrorists' shoes, trying
to figure out what might happen." 

City officials also worried about people walking through city offices.
Restrictions were void, and strangers could get to the third floor to drop
in on the city manager. 

"We started closing doors, and people had to work through a receptionist." 

Lando recalls there was fear that a West Coast attack would likely follow,
putting places like Chico on edge with spy-plane base Beale AFB not so far
off. 

SkyWest Airlines personnel continued their security roles for several months
before the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) took over. Lando
recalls while security tightened, items were simply taken away. 

"If it had been San Francisco, these people might be waiting in security
area or have been led away." 

Behind the scenes, life for the SkyWest staff, which operates the United
Express service to San Francisco, was changing almost hourly as orders came
from authorities. Airport procedures were changed and refined. 

SkyWest spokeswoman Sabrina Suite-Mangum said there's not much she can share
about behind-the-scene security ramp-ups. 

"That would be giving away things I can't give away." 

But she said passenger safety was the guiding principle, while following
federal regulations. 

On Sept. 12, air travelers were told to call a toll-free line to see if
flights would resume. The line was frequently busy. 

As tough as it was for passengers to adapt to the new laws, banning items
like knitting needles, scissors, and requiring the examination of shoes,
Suite-Mangum said SkyWest's Chico staff recall that passengers were most
cooperative. 

"The station manager told me that one of the passengers came back later to
give her a bouquet of flowers, saying she knew it was rough for the local
people," Suite-Mangum said. 

"I think that the changes have made a difference. I do believe that
travelers are safer now because of them. 

"We need the TSA to win because our business and our lives depend on it. We
may not understand what's happening behind the scenes, but we need to help
them succeed." 

Assistant City Manager Dave Burkland said the city worked hard to be
responsive to the Transportation Security Administration and airport needs.
The conference room used to host Airport Commission and tenant meetings was
transformed to accommodate the security agency. 

Not long after the attacks, the city welded shut a number of the gates on to
the airfield, and placed barbed wire atop the fencing that surrounds the
airport. 

Additionally, security access cards issued to pilots and those who work on
the air field to get through security gates were intensified. After the
attack, everyone went through a background check, and now have annual
information updates, rather than a five-year renewal. 

Attached Photo:
 
Increased security is the one visible change at Chico Municipal Airport
since Sept. 11, 2001. In 2002, Skywest worker Denise Proctor checks through
the luggage of passenger John Gebert as he shows his shoes to her before
boarding his flight.

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