THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607270196
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAT DOOLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 118 lines
Norfolk International Airport has stepped up security after President Clinton called for stricter measures involving international air travel.
And some local officials say the nature of air travel - both international and domestic - has changed forever.
For now, passengers are likely to experience minor delays as luggage is more closely examined at gate entries, said Mary Greer Landon, station manager for USAir, the airline with the most daily flights into and out of Norfolk.
People checking bags at curbside drops also are being questioned more aggressively about who packed their bags and whether they were asked to carry items for another person, she said.
Many other efforts, behind the scenes, aren't visible to travelers, said Wayne Shank, deputy director of the Norfolk Airport Authority. The airport doesn't announce such measures, he said, to maximize passenger safety.
On Thursday, Clinton announced a series of steps to improve airport security, as a result of the investigation into the downing of Trans World Airlines Flight 800 off the coast of Long Island last week.
The president called for ending curbside checks of luggage for international flights; hand-searching and X-ray screening of baggage on those flights; and more questioning of passengers.
At Norfolk International, curbside checking of baggage destined for overseas travel was eliminated several years ago, Shank said. It is still permitted for domestic travel, but that could change, as the investigation of the July 17 crash continues or if the Federal Aviation Administration calls for additional measures, he said.
Curbside domestic checks have been halted in times of threatened national security, such as Desert Storm about five years ago, Shank said. At that time also, people without tickets were not permitted into flight-departure areas.
Such measures could result from current concerns, Shank said, although neither the FAA nor the airport had called for those changes by late Friday.
Airport officials said they are in daily communication with the FAA, awaiting further directives, if any.
Response to last week's crash is the latest in a growing number of efforts to protect passenger safety, officials said.
Domestic security has been ``ratcheted up over the last several years,'' Shank said. But the greatest changes occurred in 1995, when several incidents - Pope John Paul II's visit to the United States, the trials in the bombing of New York's World Trade Center, and the then-upcoming Olympics in Atlanta - focused attention on potential terrorist dangers.
The airport now does 10-year background checks on employees - ``the eyes and ears of the airport'' - instead of five, Shank said.
It requires photo IDs of people purchasing tickets, and curbside handlers ask travelers about baggage.
Recorded loudspeaker messages and signs advise travelers never to leave bags unattended or carry items for another person.
``An unattended bag in an airport is not something you want to see today,'' Shank said. Such bags are turned over to state police and destroyed - which has happened to a few laptop computers in the past year, he said.
``If you go anywhere, the bag should go with you,'' Shank said. ``And don't accept responsibility for another person's bag.''
While Norfolk International has no direct overseas flights, eight of the 10 airlines serving it fly abroad, including TWA and USAir. About 3.2 million passengers will fly into and out of the airport this year, Shank said.
All baggage destined for overseas flight is hand-checked or X-rayed either in Norfolk or before it leaves the country on a connecting flight, Shank said.
USAir, which now is asking for photo identification at two pre-flight checkpoints, has beefed up staff at the ticket counter, concourse baggage check and curbside, Landon said.
Still, passengers should expect delays and arrive at least an hour early, she said. The airline previously advised ticketed passengers to allow a half-hour, and nonticketed passengers an hour before departure.
Small lines formed on Concourse A Friday afternoon, as airport personnel carefully checked passenger bags and belongings as they passed through metal detectors and X-ray machines.
Steve Bunkowske Jr., a service engineer for an Aliquippa, Pa., company that monitors radioactivity, was asked to reveal the contents of two large bags full of equipment.
Bunkowske, who travels weekly, said he is often delayed at airports ``but this was the longest.''
Several travelers said they were not overly concerned about flying, but recognize a need for added security.
``I used to never give it a second thought, and now I do,'' said Linda Lennon of Virginia Beach. A consultant for a company that sponsors career fairs, Lennon said she and a co-worker arrived early for a routine business flight to New York. They were asked more questions, she said, and their bags were checked more closely.
David Beavers, an Air Force technical sergeant from Hampton, was greeted by hugs and kisses from wife Denise and daughters Courtney, 10, and Katie, 4, when he arrived from Korea - by way of Los Angeles, St. Louis and Charlotte.
Officials at those airports were ``pretty observant,'' Beavers said. ``They were X-raying and checking bags in St. Louis.''
Tighter security elsewhere may cause a ripple effect of delays in Norfolk, as luggage and baggage compartments on international flights are scrutinized, and more people are questioned, said the airport authority's Shank.
Similar measures may one day be routine at even smaller airports, he said. But much of the cost likely will be borne by consumers, as airlines shoulder additional expenses.
``Up until now, there has been differentiation between how international and domestic travel was looked at, and that may be coming to an end,'' he said, citing Desert Storm as the turning point.
But increased security means heightened safety for passengers, said Shank, a 25-year Norfolk International employee.
``But I think that safety is going to come at a price. And that price will be reflected in the cost of the ticket and the amount of time it takes the passenger to arrange for his or her travel.'' MEMO: TRAVEL TIPS
Here are some suggestions for air travelers from Wayne Shank, deputy
director of the Norfolk Airport Authority:
Carry a photo-identification card and keep it handy.
Be prepared to answer specific questions about your travel plans.
Don't leave bags unattended, even for a couple of minutes.
Never carry baggage or other items for another person. ILLUSTRATION: GARY C. KNAPP color photos
An airport security guard inspects the bag of Steve Bunkowske of
Aliquippa, Pa., at Norfolk International Airport Friday.
Passengers will face minor delays as their luggage is examined more
closely at gates and on the curbside. by CNB