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Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Passenger: “It’s been pretty easy”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On one of the busiest travel days of the year, passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are finding that getting to their gate at is pretty easy. Waits at security checkpoints were about 10 minutes.
Even as the airport filled up in the early afternoon, wait times remained about 10 minutes.
Collin Richardson , who was saying good bye to his sister, said he was pleasantly surprised at how fast the lines were moving through the security checkpoint.
“I expected chaos, pandemonium,” said Richardson. “It’s been pretty easy.”
Denise Gistand of Lithonia was returning to her native Baton Rouge for Thanksgiving and was amazed to not find the holiday crowd and long lines she expected.
“I just got dropped off 10 minutes ago and here I am,” she said, rushing to keep her place in line at the checkpoint. “I just didn’t expect this.”
Airport workers kept travelers moving so stagnant lines did not have time to form. A worker stood at the terminal entrance, handing out free one-quart clear Hefty One-Zip bags for toiletries. Past her, at the entrance to the security checkpoint, more workers were on hand to help travelers decide what toiletries could go in the bag and what had to be tossed.
Bags were piled on tables at either side of the checkpoint line. Another airport worker stood among travelers waiting to go through scanners, moving them through the lines.
Felecia Browder, airport spokeswoman, attributed the smooth operations to the 3-1-1 campaign educating passengers on the new carry-on rules.
The campaign, which originated with the TSA but is prominently posted throughout the airport, says that containers of liquids, gels and aerosols 3 ounces or less may be brought on board, but they must be placed inside a 1-quart zip-top bag, with a one-bag-per-person limit.
The plastic bags must be removed from carry-ons and placed in security bins for screening.
“We’re most concerned about people who haven’t traveled in the last few months or who are flying for the first time and are not familiar with the changes. Most people are prepared though. The trash cans we set out were only about three-quarters full yesterday,” said Browder.
Georgia Tech student Alex Milstead, flying out to Los Angeles to see his dad, hasn’t flown since the new rules went into effect and was unhappy about having to throw out a 7 ounce bottle of contact lens solution.
“It cost five bucks but that’s five bucks a poor college student doesn’t have,” he said, tossing the bottle in a trash can already holding several new full-size tubes of toothpaste and bottles of hair care products.
The ease of getting to the gates didn’t extend to getting off the ground, at least on some flights.
Storms from Charlotte, N.C., to New York are causing general delays in Atlanta flight departures of about 15 minutes, but more than an hour to New York City area airports and Philadelphia, according to the FAA website.
As for parking spaces, both North and South Economy lots were full . Other lots still had spaces.
Before the day is over, Hartsfield expects to see more than 280,000 passengers, airport officials said.
Daily passenger volume is expected to peak at more than 290,000 on the Sunday and Monday after the holiday as travelers return home.
Staff writers Bridget Gutierrez and Kristina Torres contributed to this report.
