Aug 12, 2006 10:20 am US/Eastern
New Airport Security Measures May Be Here To Stay
by Kathryn Brown
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
-
-
Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images
Travelers at BWI-Thurgood Marshall continue to face heightened security after Thursday's foiled terror plot, and there's no indication that the new limitations are going away anytime soon.
By order of the Transportation Security Administration, all liquids and gels are prohibited at the screening checkpoint an on board all aircraft. That includes all beverages, shampoo, sun tan lotion, perfume, cream, toothpaste, hair gel, and other items of similar consistency. Even lip gloss and lip stick are banned when boarding.
"Folks at the airlines are gonna look for that visible liquid," Maryland Deputy Transportation Secretary Jim Ports told
WJZ's Pat Warren. "So if you're coming in with that last-minute coffee or other drink they're gonna tell you to dispose of it."
Ports says the lines at security checkpoints in Baltimore's airport are moving better than they did Thursday, but he says passengers should still expect delays. He also says passengers and security workers BWI are better prepared for the new prohibitions on carry-on liquids.
"Flying is safe, it is safe precisely because of the measures we are taking here and elsewhere in the world," Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said Friday.
A British Airways flight arriving Friday evening at BWI from Heathrow Airport in London -- the airport where the foiled terror plot was set to originate -- touched down just a few minutes late, and passengers said the flight itself was comfortable.
"It was fine, people felt, I think, relatively safe. They felt that security was heightened so they were comfortable with flying," Debbie Kirchoff, a passenger on the flight, told
WJZ's Kathryn Brown.Flights from the United Kingdom to the United States were on a code red alert, meaning passengers could not carry anything on board, except keys, wallets, and essential items.
"We have to change our behaviors based on the threat, and the threat of these terrorists," Ports said.
Airport officials are reminding passengers to arrive at least two hours before their scheduled flight is set to take off.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
