FAA Lifts 2 War-Related Restrictions at Airports : Security: Curbside check-in resumes at John Wayne Airport, and parking areas that had been fenced off will be reopened.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that it has lifted two of the security restrictions imposed at John Wayne Airport and other airports at the beginning of the Persian Gulf War, allowing a resumption of curbside baggage check-in and the removal of certain security fencing around parking areas.

Many of the carriers at John Wayne Airport promptly resumed curbside check-in Friday after the announcement.

Airport spokeswoman Courtney Wiercioch said it may take a while to remove security fencing around the parking structures, but the process is starting. About 1,200 parking spaces in structures A1 and B1 that had been closed will be reopened, she said.

Wiercioch said the airlines are delighted at the resumption of curbside check-in, a convenience that allows quicker baggage handling.

Jan Mittermeier, the airport manager at John Wayne, was also pleased with the FAA’s announcement. “We are looking forward to returning to normal operations,” she said. “The resumption of curbside check-in and the return of our parking structures to their full capacity will be a welcome relief to airport users.”

The FAA said it will continue to stop non-passengers at security screening points and bar them from boarding areas for the time being. Officials said, however, that they want to remove the restriction as soon as possible.

That restriction has meant lost business for many of John Wayne’s specialty shops, most of which are beyond the checkpoint area. Many concessionaires have complained that they have been losing money since the restriction went into effect on Jan. 16.

Unattended automobiles at curbsides will continue to be subject to immediate towing at all airports.

FAA administrator James B. Busey said: “The traveling public can be assured that security is our top priority and that domestic security is constantly reviewed and changed as circumstances warrant.”

Despite the adjustments, a spokesman at Lindbergh Field in San Diego said airports generally remain at what is known as “contingency threat level 4,” a high level of security that was imposed Jan. 16, the night the war began.

Aside from occasional bomb threats, no terrorist incidents were reported at the nation’s airports during the war.

Curbside check-in is also resuming at Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport and Lindbergh Field in San Diego. Burbank Airport resumed the practice earlier in the week.