This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Enjoy new investment freedom! Get the tools you need to successfully manage your portfolio from Harrisdirect. Start with award-winning research. Then add access to round-the-clock customer service from Series-7 trained representatives. Open an account today and receive a $100 credit! http://www.nytimes.com/ads/Harrisdirect.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ Summer Fliers Likely to Face Endurance Test at the Airport May 11, 2002 By EDWARD WONG CHICAGO, May 10 - As travelers return to the skies this vacation season, they are likely to face mounting delays and inconveniences caused by new security rules, staff cuts and other measures adopted at airports and airlines after the Sept. 11 attacks. Summer air travel has always been about as pleasant as a Los Angeles rush-hour commute. But a confluence of factors this year could test passengers' endurance in ways they have never experienced: the airlines eliminated more than 80,000 jobs last fall, the government is overhauling the country's entire airport checkpoint work force, and new safeguards that have already been causing enormous inconvenience and delays will remain in place, like the evacuation of entire terminals and airplanes at the slightest breach of security. What is more, airlines are squeezing flights back into peak periods at some major airports like O'Hare International here; passengers are staying longer in the terminals because they are arriving earlier; and droves of leisure travelers unfamiliar with the post-Sept. 11 procedures will be descending on airports, often with baby strollers and squirming children in tow. "Our concern is that the delay issues on moving passengers inside the terminals are not on anybody's radar screen at this point," said David Plavin, president of the North America branch of Airports Council International, a global association of 550 airports and airport authorities. "Movement has been very uneven. The quality of security, most people would agree, has increased significantly. But many people are sensing that we paid a high price for that in terms of the system's ability to function." Then there are the inevitable summer thunderstorms that often plunge the entire system into gridlock. Despite all that, some things will probably be better than in the summer of 2000, the worst ever in the number of delays. Although travelers have been steadily returning since the winter, passenger traffic is expected to still be down about 5 percent over last year, analysts say. Labor disputes that led to wide-scale cancellations in the past are not an immediate threat. In the last two years, airlines at some hubs have scheduled their flights farther apart, relieving congestion. But at other airports, airlines are quickly adding back capacity to the peak travel times, threatening to overload the system, air traffic controllers say. For example, here at O'Hare, airlines canceled many of their unpopular night routes after Sept. 11, only to add back flights to the most lucrative day hours, said Ray Gibbons, president of a local air traffic controllers' union. "We can handle only so many airplanes, and their schedule has increased during those times, and that could mean more delays as they add more flights," he said. Delays at the largest hubs then spread to flights across the country. Joe Hopkins, a spokesman for United Airlines, said the airline had compressed its schedules into the day hours at its nonhub airports, but that early morning and late evening flights would be added back in June at O'Hare, and that flights during the day were spaced far enough apart. The flood of summer travelers will come as the government is still trying to iron out its security procedures. The Transportation Security Administration, created by Congress after Sept. 11, intends to replace tens of thousands of private security workers at 429 airports with federal employees by Nov. 19. It also plans to put in place 5,800 explosive and trace detection devices by Dec. 31 to screen all checked baggage. This weekend, law enforcement officers are replacing National Guard troops at security checkpoints. "People have got to be prepared for all of this extra security, especially those who have not flown since last summer," John Hotard, an American Airlines spokesman, said. "We're working closely with the T.S.A. to do everything we can to make the process bearable. But there is going to be more hassle, if you will, as the airports get crowded this summer with the additional traffic." The Transportation Security Administration plans to federalize security at 10 to 25 airports s week, amid the onslaught of irritable summer crowds and despite Congress's reluctance to give the agency a $4.4 billion emergency supplement that it requested. At 4 a.m. on April 30, the agency began putting its first 210 screeners in place at two of Baltimore-Washington International Airport's five boarding areas after months of testing new measures, like the best ways to organize checkpoint lines. But some experts doubt that lessons learned there can be applied directly to other airports. "One of the issues is: Can they replicate this kind of space at a hub like Atlanta or Denver?" said Steve Van Beek, senior vice president at Airports Council International-North America. "It's hard to imagine how you can do what they did at B.W.I. at a lot of other airports. The infrastructure is so different." Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has said he wants passengers to wait no longer than 10 minutes in a security line. Airport managers at several hubs said times were down to that now, although many frequent travelers still complain about long waits. Coastal airports in particular could have even longer lines this summer because a larger proportion of their passengers check in rather than transfer. At Los Angeles International Airport, which checks in more passengers and baggage per day than any other airport in the world, maximum wait times at some terminals range from 15 minutes to 40 minutes, still short of Mr. Mineta's 10-minute goal, said Nancy Castles, an airport spokeswoman. "As we start the process of federalization, while we might run into some snags along the way, we hope to get better at this and streamline the process," said Deirdre O'Sullivan, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman. Many travelers do not know how far in advance to arrive for their flights, and recommended times vary widely. Delta Air Lines suggests checking in at least one hour before departure for domestic flights and two hours for international flights. Continental Airlines recommends arriving two to two and a half hours early at seven major airports for all flights during peak periods, and one to two hours at most other sites. Over the summer, the Transportation Security Administration will also continue clearing out entire terminals, airports and airplanes at the first sign of a security breach. Federal Aviation Administration figures show that the policy led to a staggering number of delays from Oct. 30 to April 6. There were 180 evacuations at terminals, nearly 40 percent of them begun by the government, and 901 airplane evacuations, 90 percent by the government. The government's evacuations at terminals alone resulted in 540 flight cancellations and 1,923 delays. "This mindless, zero-tolerance approach is ill advised," said Ben DeCosta, the general manager of Hartsfield Atlanta International, which was shut down for four hours last November after a man ran down an up escalator to retrieve a camera bag. "Dumping entire terminals for minor infractions is not prudent." Mr. DeCosta added that he was "downright pessimistic" about the government's "monstrous" task of installing 1,100 comprehensive explosive detection devices. The size of minivans, the devices are to be put in the 100 largest airports. Another potential snag this summer is the flood of leisure travelers unfamiliar with post-Sept. 11 security. Such problems occurred recently at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport when some college students held up security lines because they did not realize they had to have their laptops scanned, said Kevin Cox, the airport's senior executive vice president. Further complicating travel, airlines have different rules on whether children need to show photo identification, he added. For instance, Continental requires children ages 12 to 17 and traveling alone to have a photo ID, while United does not. The overall confusion will probably be worsened this summer by security checks of baby strollers, coolers and even stuffed animals, as children fidget and adults steam. Parents carrying feeding bottles might even be asked to sip from them. "I think it might be a little rougher," said Andrew Tang, a 26-year-old high-technology entrepreneur from New York who often flies to Houston and California. "The security thing tosses a huge variable into the equation. I have no idea what to expect. Sometimes the line is long, sometimes it's short. It's definitely an annoyance for me." Adding to the snarls is the elimination of thousands of short-term parking spaces at large airports because of a new federal rule prohibiting parking within 300 feet of terminals. Atlanta lost 3,000 spaces, Dallas-Fort Worth 2,700 and the three major New York area airports 1,800. "Unfortunately, they were the spaces the most convenient and closest to the terminals in many cases," said Bill DeCota, director of aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the three airports. Airports continue to have reduced work forces because of the airlines' huge job cuts last fall. Although the airlines are expecting passenger volume to approach that of previous summers, they have refilled only a fraction of the jobs they cut. American Airlines, for instance, has recalled only a third of the 3,181 counter and gate agents that it furloughed. Mr. Hotard, the American spokesman, said that the workers, though fewer, would be able to cope by directing passengers to self-check-in kiosks that many large airlines were setting up. Some hub airport managers say they will add hundreds of workers or volunteers to the floors during the busiest times. The airlines also say they can hire back more workers and add more flights if needed, although how quickly remains a question. But despite the best-laid plans and billions of dollars spent on technology and staff, a single whim of nature can toss it all to the wind. "The big issue is thunderstorms, and nobody can predict those in advance," said William Shumann, a spokesman for the F.A.A. "It depends so much on not only how large they are, but the precise location and timing. They're just too rapid to predict." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/11/business/11AIR.html?ex=1022136459&ei=1&en=e890b3c1d473c5d7 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company