travelnews: Summer Travel

[Carolyn Wooley <cwooley@oregon.uoregon.edu>]

NATION'S AIRPORTS EXPECTED TO HEAT UP THIS SUMMER

U.S. air carriers are expecting 65 million passengers each month this
summer, a 12% increase from last year. As part of the Transportation
Security Administration's (TSA) plan to minimize waits for travelers at
security checkpoints, federal officials will closely monitor 25 of the
busiest airports and the TSA will deploy its mobile screening force to
help at airports handling higher-than-normal levels of passengers or
special events, such as the July 4 holiday and political conventions in
New York and Boston. In addition, the TSA will give airport security
directors more flexibility on scheduling and keep checkpoints open longer
at certain periods. The TSA will also deploy "divestiture coaches" to
remind travelers at airports what they need to do at checkpoints.
According to the TSA, its plan to address the expected surge in passengers
could get people through the screening checkpoints 20% faster. Some tips
from the TSA for travelers include:

n Do not pack or bring prohibited items. Log onto www.tsa.gov for a list
of items that cannot go aboard.
n Avoid wearing shoes, clothing, jewelry and accessories with metal.
n Put undeveloped film in carry-on baggage; checked baggage screening
equipment will damage undeveloped film.
n Remember that carry-on baggage is limited to one bag and one personal
item, such as a purse, laptop computer, small backpack or briefcase.
n Label laptops; they are the most forgotten items at airports.
n Put metal, including coins, jewelry, keys, cell phones, pagers and PDAs,
in carry-on bags.
n Take laptops out of their bag, place in bin separate from carrying case.
n Take off an outer coat and place in bin.

Among those airports on the list for special attention this summer are:
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport; Las Vegas McCarran International
Airport; Los Angeles International Airport; John Wayne Airport-Orange
County Airport; Honolulu International Airport; Denver International
Airport; Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; Atlanta's
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport; Dallas-Fort Worth International
Airport; Washington's Dulles International Airport; New York's John F.
Kennedy International Airport, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport; and
Newark's Liberty International Airport.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
To view all TRAVELNEWS messages posted since October 31, 2001 visit our
archive at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~travel/travelnews/index.html