U.S. Bases, Embassies on Full Alert; Airlines Warned by FAA

American military bases and embassies remained on full alert against possible terrorist attacks on Tuesday, and the Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines and airport officials to be “extra vigilant” in the wake of the U.S. strike against Libya.

In California, security measures were increased at most military installations, federal facilities and major airports.

FAA spokesman Fred Farrar said the agency is requiring all U.S. airlines flying international routes to take “special additional security measures,” which he declined to elaborate upon publicly.

Security units guarding federal buildings in Washington, including the White House, the Capitol, the State Department and the Pentagon, appeared to be extra cautious in checking visitors the day after the U.S. attack and Libya’s call for retaliation against Americans around the globe.

Few New Measures

But few new security measures, such as added manpower, vehicle blockades or prohibitions against public entry, were evident. As usual, officials declined to discuss specifically the precautions being taken to protect government leaders.

Most departments and agencies in the capital remained on “gray alert,” meaning normal security procedures following directives from the General Services Administration.

“The next step,” said Malcolm Barr, a spokesman for the Commerce Department, “would be to go to ‘yellow alert,’ which means all visitors would have to have an escort while in the building.”

Security was increased at many facilities in California, but the Secret Service was tight-lipped about protection offered President Reagan’s children, Michael Reagan and Patti Davis, who live in Los Angeles, while the President’s elder brother, J. Neil Reagan, said he has no special security measures in effect at his Rancho Santa Fe home--and has no plans to plans to install any.

Traffic Backups

Traffic backups developed outside the main gates at Long Beach Naval Station and Naval Shipyard, and at March Air Force Base near Riverside due to what spokesmen called “increased sensitivity” to security needs.

Guards at the California Air National Guard at Van Nuys Airport reported for duty in combat gear instead of the usual Air Force blue uniforms. Other military installations reported “renewed concern” with security but declined to discuss specifics.

Lou Turpen, director of San Francisco International Airport, said a previously prepared “plan of action” was put into effect immediately after the raid on Libya, with armed patrols at international terminals and days off canceled for security officers.

At Los Angeles International Airport and San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, security officials declined to discuss their own measures--but travelers reported longer waiting lines at boarding gates.

The San Francisco federal building was evacuated briefly Tuesday while an Army bomb squad examined a suspicious-looking parcel, but no explosives were found and the building was re-occupied in a few minutes. U.S. marshals in Los Angeles were told to “remain alert” in protecting courts--but no unusual precautions were reported.

In Cancun, Mexico, Times staff writer Dan Williams reported that Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III said the Justice Department has “increased the state of alertness” of federal law officers since the April 5 bombing of a Berlin discotheque in which an American serviceman was killed.

Meese Confers in Mexico

Meese spoke at the end of a two-day conference with Mexican law officials that dealt mainly with cooperation between the two countries to fight drugs. Meese said that U.S. delegates at the meeting discussed “joint cooperative efforts against terrorism” through the exchange of information and “control of people across the border.”

Overseas, U.S. embassies and military installations were at top alert.

Several American overseas installations have been identified by classified Administration and congressional studies as being especially vulnerable to terrorist attack, and the government is embarking this year on a $4.4 billion plan to “harden” those facilities. Most of that work has yet to get under way, however.

Security was visibly tighter Tuesday around the U.S. Embassy in Bonn, capital of West Germany. Police armed with submachine guns blocked the approach to the grounds and stopped every car, including those of embassy employees. Other officers patrolled the grounds with dogs.

More policemen than usual were seen patrolling government buildings in Bonn, and police sources said the Libyan Embassy was under closer surveillance.

Authorities in Frankfurt, West Germany, assigned security patrols to apartment buildings where Americans live or work, police spokesman Hans Neitzel said. About 60,000 Americans connected to the 5th Army Corps are based in the area.

About 250,000 American troops serve in West Germany. U.S. Army-Europe headquarters in Heidelberg said all installations were on alert.

Warnings in Peking

Times correspondent Jim Mann reported from Peking that the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday called on all American organizations based in China to warn about “the threats to personal safety” Americans may face here over the next few weeks as result of developments in Libya.

An embassy spokesman said all Americans in China should “exercise special caution and alertness,” he said. U.S. citizens should show “a heightened awareness of the threats to personal safety at home, at work and in public gathering places” and should “be alert to suspicious approaches” by individuals and groups.

Embassy officials telephoned the warning to all American businesses, news organizations and student groups based here. According to U.S. sources, the embassy received a letter last week threatening action against Americans in China.

In Washington, with the exception of the Capitol, most federal buildings require visitors to check in at the door and wear special badges while they are in the building. Many--the Capitol included--require visitors to pass through metal detectors.

No Special Instructions

At State Department headquarters, a sprawling stone and glass complex covering two city blocks, an officer who identified himself only as captain of the guard said no special instructions were given to security personnel.

“This has been a top secret installation that is protected 24 hours a day; it’s always under security and there is no change,” he said.

At the White House, no new precautions were apparent. The Executive Mansion already is surrounded by a tall, heavy fence and concrete barriers erected in stages over recent years. All but the highest-ranking visitors are routinely required to pass through metal detectors and have their bags examined.

Streets and parking lots around the Capitol were blocked by dump trucks and other heavy vehicles Monday night, as has been done many times previously. The trucks were removed Tuesday morning to make way for regular congressional traffic.