No excess baggage

Friday, Oct. 5, 2001 | 10:48 a.m.

McCarran International Airport is set to announce Monday that it will restrict the number of carry-on bags passengers can take on planes, beginning next week.

The new carry-on policy -- believed to be one of the first of its kind ordered by an airport anywhere in the United States -- will begin Wednesday and will limit passengers to one personal item, like a purse, and one other bag, a McCarran spokeswoman said.

The one personal bag can be a purse, a fanny pack or a briefcase with a laptop computer. The one extra carry-on bag can be a piece of luggage, subject to airline rules, that fits under an airplane seat or in the overhead storage bins, including small bags on wheels.

The rules are aimed at reducing waits at security checkpoints, which at peak times are running at one hour.

The airport has never had a carry-on policy. In the past, carry-on rules were developed and enforced by each airline.

Under the new rules, the size of the one allowed bag permitted past airport security points would have to conform to individual airlines' carry-on policies.

For example, Southwest limits the size of bags to 10-by-16-by-24 inches. America West says bags can be of any dimension adding up to 45 inches or less. United restricts bags to 9-by-14-by-22 inches and they can weigh no more than 50 pounds.

The significance of the change is that in the past, travelers could move an unlimited number of bags of any size through security check-in points. Travelers would then deal with their airline as to whether the luggage could be carried on.

Now, McCarran will restrict movement of luggage past security check-in points.

Airport spokeswoman Hilarie Grey recommended that passengers consult their airlines to be clear on carry-on size restrictions.

Increased security

Security has been increased dramatically at the nation's airports since the hijacking of four planes by terrorists Sept. 11.

Grey said airlines were consulted about the delay problem earlier this week and several solutions, ranging from a total ban of carry-on bags to the less-restrictive option being adopted, were discussed.

Executives of one of the airlines expected to be affected the most by the policy, Southwest Airlines -- the largest commercial carrier at McCarran -- voiced concerns about the proposal and began warning passengers calling for reservations Wednesday that they might not be allowed to carry on bags on future flights. Meanwhile, the company asked the airport for more time to implement the new plan.

Details of the new policy will be announced Monday. McCarran officials expect to start the restrictions at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Alerting travelers

McCarran will alert travelers by placing signs announcing the plan all over the airport. Grey also said information would be distributed to guests at Las Vegas hotels who have already arrived and are leaving Wednesday or later.

Southwest is expected to be affected the most because it will increase to more than 170 daily nonstop flights next week with the addition of new service between Las Vegas and Norfolk, Va. With passengers carrying fewer bags on the plane, it's expected that more people will go to the lines to check baggage. During peak periods Sunday and Monday, Southwest's lines were four hours long.

Grey said Las Vegas seems to be one of the first cities to show a rebound for the airline industry and Southwest has led the nation's airlines in the comeback. It was the only major carrier that didn't cut flights or personnel following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and company officials say the airline's loads, particularly to Las Vegas, are nearly back to levels the company had before the attacks.

Grey said Randy Walker, director of the Clark County Department of Aviation, has made a plea to airlines planning to lay off employees to instead consider transferring them, at least temporarily, to Las Vegas to handle some of the busy days that are even busier now under heightened security rules.

Kristin Nelson, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines in Dallas, said now that some details are emerging on the new policy, the company will begin encouraging customers to be prepared, and that could include asking passengers to be at the airport earlier, especially on the traditionally busy Las Vegas getaway days of Sunday and Monday.

She said it was too early to determine how Southwest would respond if baggage check-in lines get as long as they were last weekend.

Roz Santangelo, a Las Vegas-based Southwest spokeswoman, said it would be difficult to add more employees because during peak periods all of the airline's work stations are already staffed to maximum capacity.

Two other key players in the Las Vegas market -- America West Airlines and National Airlines -- support McCarran's new policy.

Not everybody agrees

Not everybody agrees with the new policy.

Mike Boyd, an Evergreen, Colo.-based aviation consultant and analyst, said airport officials should be responsible for seeing that their airport perimeters are secure and not worry about the number of bags airline passengers take with them when they go to their flights.

"We don't need airports grandstanding," Boyd said. "Policies like these are an indication of how we're running from terrorism."

Grey responded that the airport "was confronted with something we've never seen before."

"Our first priority is to the safety of all our passengers," Grey said. "Then, we began looking for solutions to bringing down the lines at the security checkpoints, which got to be very, very long."

Grey had this advice to passengers to minimize time at the airport:

--Heed the advice airlines issue on how early to arrive. Getting there too early can become as problematic as getting there too late, because airlines have staffing levels to meet the expected number of customers. People who arrive too early delay the people who are right on time for their flights.

--Take only the number of carry-on bags permitted to the gate. Grey said many of the delays have resulted when one passenger attempts to take too many bags through the security checkpoint. She said McCarran officials will be watching the security checkpoint lines for passengers with more than the number allowed under the new policy when it takes effect Wednesday.

--Don't attempt to take newly banned items through the checkpoint. Scissors, knitting needles and Swiss army knives are among the well-documented items that have been banned under new security rules. Yet Grey said passengers are still trying to get them in on their carry-on bags.

Grey said she expects some of the baggage check-in lines to have fewer people in them in the days ahead because five airlines have been cleared to have bags checked by curbside sky caps. Airlines that have been cleared for curbside service by the Federal Aviation Administration are Continental, American, Southwest, United and America West.