"Relaxed security bringing delays"

Thursday, October 5, 2006

Relaxed security bringing delays 
Fliers confused by rules on carry-on gels, liquids 
By HUBBLE SMITH
The Las Vegas (NV) Review-Journal

 
Some airline passengers are still confused about relaxed security
regulations regarding liquids and gels that can be carried onto aircraft,
creating delays at security checkpoints, the director at McCarran
International Airport said Tuesday.

The Transportation Security Administration recently changed the rules about
carry-on liquids, gels and aerosol products, allowing passengers to bring
3-ounce containers in one-quart, resealable, transparent plastic bags.

Passengers should place the bags separately with other items in the conveyer
tub that passes through X-ray machines at the security checkpoint, Clark
County Aviation Director Randall Walker said.

Every day, some 60,000 passengers move through McCarran, the nation's
fifth-busiest airport. Even slight delays can result in lines such as those
at the D gates that pushed 70 minutes Monday. The waits were the longest
since a terrorist threat was discovered in the United Kingdom in August,
Walker said.

"If we add two seconds for every passenger, that's 120,000 seconds a day and
you start calculating the minutes, you can see how the seconds add up," he
said.

Examples of liquids taken from passengers at McCarran included a 16-ounce
bottle of Pom pomegranate juice and a 6.8-ounce bottle of Lanc?me
moisturizing cream. Though the Lanc?me bottle was nearly empty, clearly less
than 3 ounces, the container exceeded the size limit, Walker said.

"People are confused. They're bringing things they're not supposed to.
Containers of 3 ounces or less in a sealed one-quart bag. Some people don't
understand the one-quart and resealable bag," the airport director said as
he showed one at a news conference. "People brought water bottles and drank
them down to 3 ounces."

Bobbie Fuss of Los Angeles said she knew about the 3-ounce rule and that
everything had to be in a transparent, plastic bag, but she didn't know the
size of the bag. Another passenger at McCarran said he had his toiletries in
separate bags because it was unclear from media reports that everything had
to be in one bag.

Some individuals are carrying liquid items in other bags and in their coat
pockets, said Jose Ralls, federal security director at McCarran.

Photographs of what can be taken through the checkpoints are being shown to
passengers so they can better understand the rules, he said. This tactic
will not only enhance security, but expedite passengers through security
checkpoints, he added.

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