=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2001/12/21/MN238388.D= TL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, December 21, 2001 (SF Chronicle) Lines growing at SFO with new security Ray Delgado, Chronicle Staff Writer If the mile-long lines at San Francisco International Airport yesterday morning are any indication, many travelers have conquered their fears from the Sept. 11 terror attacks and decided to take the trip to see the family for the holidays. Thousands of passengers crammed the United Airlines terminal at SFO for the start of the holiday weekend travel crush, to be greeted with long lines just about everywhere and some flight delays due to rainy weather. Mary White, a San Francisco resident traveling to Phoenix to see her family, said she arrived at the airport in plenty of time to catch her flight, only to end up in the wrong lines. "This is the third line I've stood in," she said. "There's all these security lines, and they don't tell you which one is right for you until they yell at you for being in the wrong one." White said that the flight was the first she had taken since one week after the terrorist attacks, when the airport had similar levels of security but far fewer passengers. "There were lines then, but it wasn't anything like this," said White. "It's not working. I wouldn't fly during the holidays again. But today, there's nothing we can do." Airport spokesman Mike McCarron said more than 100,000 travelers were expected to pass through the airport yesterday, up from the usual 80,000 on a weekday. He said security lines were long but were moving as quickly as possible. "All the airlines have agents working the lines, getting people where th= ey need to go," he said. Travelers could make the system flow more smoothly, McCarron said, by calling from home to check on their flights before they leave for the airport. They should try to arrive 1 1/2 to two hours early. He also advised travelers not to wrap gifts they plan to carry onboard t= he plane, because they might have to be opened by security agents. Despite the rain, there were only a handful of weather-related delays, d= ue to late arrivals from airports with poor weather. Shifting winds at SFO also forced some flights to land and take off from different runways, McCarron said. The crowded terminals made for confusion and a general angst among travelers. One woman had to be taken away by wheelchair, breathing in and out of a paper bag. Others just groaned and kept walking as they saw lines extending into waiting areas. Martha Bellman, a San Mateo resident who was taking a trip to Los Angeles with a friend for the first time since Sept. 11, had had enough of the lines after nearly an hour of standing around. "There's too many lines," Bellman said of the added security measures. "I think it's a little stupid to be doing it this much. It's not necessary." Bellman's friend, Steven Ramirez, an airline attendant, got his first experience of post-Sept. 11 lines waiting with Bellman to catch a flight as a regular passenger. "It's too much," Ramirez said. "I just feel like things have calmed down now. I don't feel like all this is necessary." Kay Evans of Morgan Hill kept her cool even though her husband and two children -- bogged down in long check-in lines -- were cutting it close for their flight to Manchester, England. "No one likes to wait in line, but it's for a good cause," said Evans. "We're just hoping that we'll make our flight on time." Evans said she and her husband had debated about whether to make the trip to England in light of the terrorist attacks. She said she was relieved to see so much security at the airport and felt comfortable about traveling. "We had a lot of hesitation," she said. "But we figure we're safer now than we were before." Cory Culbertson, a 19-year-old member of the Job Corps program on Treasu= re Island, arrived at the airport at 7:30 a.m. for an 11 a.m. flight and was about to clear the last security gate with plenty of time to spare. He said the flight to see his family in Providence, R.I., was the first he had taken since Sept. 11 and he didn't mind getting to the airport extra early. "They're actually taking the security issues much more seriously now, li= ke they should have been before," he said. "I feel like maybe (the terror attacks were) a blessing in disguise. It's made things much safer." E-mail Ray Delgado at rdelgado@sfchronicle.com.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2001 SF Chronicle