Hartsfield braces for big rush after easy Tuesday

By Katie Leslie

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

If Tuesday was any indication of what to expect,  Wednesday travelers alarmed by the recent outcry over new, tougher security measures at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport may be pleasantly surprised.

One day before the the pre-Thanksgiving wave crests, Atlanta's airport was notably subdued, vendors and travelers said, with minimal wait times and limited, if any, use of the controversial full-body scanners.

Many of the scanners at the main security checkpoint were roped off at mid-day Tuesday. Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jonathan Allen said travelers should expect the enhanced security measures, such as the scanners, to operate "just as they would any other day." He didn't address why the full body scanners appeared to not be in use Tuesday.

There are 14 full body scanners at Hartsfield-Jackson, out of 43 security lanes.  TSA policy is to direct passengers at random to either metal detectors or scanners according to which lines are shortest, the agency's administrator, John Pistole, said Tuesday.

The overall goal, he said, is to move people through as quickly as possible while screening thoroughly for threats. Passengers who would rather wait longer and go through a metal detector rather than a scanner have that option, he said.

Hartsfield-Jackson spokeswoman Katena Carvajales said the airport does not expect planned protests over the scanners to disrupt travel Wednesday. A loosely organized movement of groups across the country, including one in Atlanta,  is encouraging travelers to  "Opt Out" of the full body scanners Wednesday.  That would force TSA workers to perform pat-downs of those travelers, which some fear could cause long delays at security checkpoints.

Typically, less than 3 percent of travelers are subjected to pat-downs because the scanner detects suspicious objects on their bodies, Allen said.

Lina Bustos, who flew from Atlanta to Orlando Tuesday afternoon, said she was prepared to submit to the scanning, but would recoil at a pat-down.

“I understand it’s a safety issue," she said. "But if I had a choice, I’d say no to pat-downs.”

Since launching the enhanced pat-downs, the TSA has received about 2,000 complaints, the agency’s administrator, Pistole said. Two private organizations that are compiling complaints, the America Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, have received a similar number between them.

During the same period, the TSA has screened about 35 million airline passengers, Pistole said.

He said the TSA replaced the old, less-intrusive pat-down procedure because it repeatedly failed to stop agents who went through security with simulated explosives hidden on their bodies.

Half of Americans say the enhanced pat-downs go too far, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll published Tuesday.But nearly two-thirds of those surveyed support the full-body scanners. More than two-thirds say they put higher priority on preventing terrorism than protecting personal privacy.

AirTran Airways has issued roughly a dozen refunds over the last four days to passengers who chose not to fly because of the new security policies, spokesman Tad Hutcheson said.

“We’re offering refunds on a case-by-case basis," he said.

But in many other cases, AirTran ticket agents have been able to reassure passengers that there was little need for concern, he said.

“They kept their itineraries and some people decided to travel at a later time,” Hutcheson said.

AirTran officials anticipate more than 350,000 passengers flying the airline from Wednesday through Sunday.

Delta Airlines spokeswoman Susan Elliot said

the airline has seen no significant increase in requests for refunds as a result of the fervor over new airport security procedures.

“Instances where we do offer a refund are going to be extremely rare,” Elliot said. “A passenger would have to have extenuating circumstances.”

More surprising to airport worker Cheryl Diggs than the lack of pat-downs was the absence in travelers during the morning and early afternoon hours Tuesday.

The airport seemed even slower than the average day, she said.

"When I came to the airport this morning, I expected crowds to be lined up," said Diggs, who works in a home decor store beside the main security gate. "I was shocked. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will be busy."

Carvajales said that 1.7 million people are expected to pass through Hartsfield-Jackson between Tuesday and Monday, which is projected to be the airport's busiest travel day.

The ATA, a major airline industry group, expects 24 million travelers to fly on U.S. airlines over a 12-day period that ends next Tuesday. That's a 3.5 percent increase from last year.

Traveler Marilyn Merkison said she flew into Atlanta Tuesday to avoid Wednesday's rush. As she sat inside the main terminal, waiting for her daughter to arrive on a flight from Washington, D.C., Merkison said she was surprised at how calm the world's busiest airport seemed, especially two days before a holiday.

"I’ve never, in all my traveling days, been in an airport this quiet,” she said.

And that is what is making some people nervous, said Travelocity.com travel expert Jeff Varhol, who is staked out at Hartsfield-Jackson through Wednesday evening.

He's among a Travelocity team that monitors the country's 10 busiest airports around the holidays.

“Some people are worried that because it is slow today, then tomorrow will be horrible."

Both Carvajales and Varhol urged travelers to arrive at least 90 minutes before domestic flights and two hours prior to international departures. Varhol also suggests travelers check the status of parking lots by visiting airport websites or by calling Hartsfield's hotline at (404) 530-6725. They can also get live updates via Varhol's Twitter account: fly_from_ATL.

-- Staff writers Marcus Garner and Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this article.