Airport personnel work to ease delays caused by security checks

Daniela Mohor

Monday, Oct. 15, 2001 | 9:43 a.m.

The planes are flying, but the lines of passengers crawl through McCarran International Airport's security checkpoints.

Airline traffic is nearly back to normal, airport officials say, but not so the departure areas, where security is still at one of its highest levels in the airport's history.

"What we're finding, now that our traffic is going back to normal, is that the security procedures make everything go slower," said Hilarie Grey, a spokeswoman for McCarran.

The lines to the ticket counters were so long on Sunday that the airport administration closed three of six of the curbside dropoff lanes to accommodate lines. Outside, dozens of people waited behind stanchions, bearing with the sun and the wait.

Employees in orange vests monitored the lines and held up signs directing travelers to the right areas. They also handed out bottles of water.

Inside, tables were set up by the ticket counters to make hand searches of luggage easier and faster.

"We at the airport are trying to get people through their lines as quickly and safely as we can without compromising any of the procedures that the Federal Aviation Administration established," Grey said.

McCarran's air traffic returned to 90 percent of its normal volume soon after the attacks, Grey said. But the airport didn't feel the ripple effects of the heightened security until recently, because fewer passengers than usual were boarding the planes.

Now that more passengers are traveling again, the lines are getting longer.

"In the past few weekends there has been a pretty heavy crowd," she said. "People are taking the advice to get back to their normal life seriously, and Las Vegas seems to be an easy destination."

Another reason for the higher number of passengers, Grey said, is that the airport's largest carrier, Southwest, had promotions for Las Vegas. The weekend flights were all sold out, she said.

But there have been long lines during the week too. Every day at peak hours the congestion is similar, Grey said. The situation has become so difficult to handle that the airport administration asked all of its employees, including office staff, to work extra hours helping direct the traffic flow.

Last Tuesday airport director Randy Walker even put on an orange vest and helped out, Grey said.

The airport's efforts have brought results. Despite the long wait, passengers generally welcomed the security measures and praised McCarran's employees for their work.

"I was out there for an hour and a half and didn't mind one minute of it," said Dana Martin, who was about to fly to Atlanta. "It was a little frustrating but everybody is appreciative of the heightened security."

Eliane Helsen, a tourist from New Caledonia, a French Pacific island, agreed. She had been in line for one hour and still had dozens of people ahead of her.

"It's annoying, but it's for our safety," she said. "We can't say anything, it's not the airport's fault."