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Air Travel Cautiously Resumes
The Travel Troubleshooter · September 13, 2001

If you're planning to travel by air during the next few days, anticipate lengthy delays, rigorous security checks, and a series of other unexpected inconveniences.

For example, electronic tickets won't always work. In some cases, both a paper ticket and photo identification will be required for air travel. It's best to check with your carrier before you leave. If you want to be absolutely sure you won't have to stand in a long line at the ticket counter, ask your travel agent for a paper ticket or request one from the airline when you make your reservation.

But getting a valid ticket is likely to be the least of your worries. Details have begun to emerge about the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) new security directives, and the measures go well beyond what Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta had outlined in earlier statements.

The steps, described in a confidential FAA document sent to the airlines, include new luggage rules, limits on cargo, restrictions on passenger access to terminals, and the phasing in of random security screenings on the ground. Once a flight is boarded, expect additional precautions to be taken (specifics of the plan have been omitted at the request of the FAA in the interests of national security).

One of the most controversial elements of the government directive is its stepped-up use of what's known as profiling, or identifying a suspicious-looking passenger based on a profile of known terrorists. In the past, profiling has come under attack from civil rights groups that say the system unfairly singles out travelers of Middle Eastern descent.

"As part of these measures, it is not our intention to violate anyone's civil rights," says FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto. "But you have to understand that security is our first concern here."

What does all of this mean to you? In the short-term, it will translate into more protracted delays than the government initially led you to believe. The steps outlined by Mineta-a ban on curbside luggage check-ins, restrictions on parking, and certain limits on passenger movement within terminals-left many observers with the impression that although air travel would be slow in the aftermath of this week's terrorist attack, it would be manageable. That may not be the case.

Additional delays are likely to be precipitated by the FAA's new, more aggressive approach to security that adds additional layers to screening procedures. Those probably haven't been factored in to anyone's itinerary because few people know about them: the government is being extremely secretive about the extent of the security precautions.

It's likely that in the days following the resumption of air travel, these unexpected measures could add considerably more than two hours to your check-in time. Plan accordingly.

Don't assume your airport will open along with the others, either. The FAA's security directive is quite extensive and calls for resources, such as bomb-sniffing dogs, that some airports don't have at their disposal yet. It could take some airports longer to open than others, so your best bet is to keep an alternate airport on the backburner in case the airport you want to use doesn't reopen in time.

Once the new security regime is in place and running, there will be other issues to contend with. The FAA directive suggests that more precautions are in the works. They could include additional security training for ground personnel and the installation of new technology designed to thwart future terrorist attacks. While these steps will make the airport safer, they'll almost certainly add to your travel time as well.

Bottom line: if you're flying anywhere for the foreseeable future, bring a good book. You may finish it before your trip is over.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. ChrisCrossings appears weekly on this site.