Burbank Airport Observes Alert Against Terrorism : Safety: In wake of Trade Center bombing convictions, officials impose parking lot security measures.

A handful of parking restrictions were imposed at Burbank Airport on Monday as part of a federal alert issued to airports nationwide to safeguard against a possible terrorist attack.

Though it was mostly business as usual, airport passengers had to put up with a few minor parking hassles. All vehicles larger than passenger cars were being diverted from the main parking structure to lots located farther from the airport terminal, where they could be inspected by airport police if need be.

In addition, parking spaces nearest the terminal were roped off and signs erected indicating that cars left unattended in the pickup area in front of the terminal would be towed away immediately.

Similar precautions were taken at all U.S. airports Monday under a Federal Aviation Authority alert issued to ward off possible retaliation by followers of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, a militant Egyptian cleric who was convicted in federal court on charges of plotting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York.

But airport officials stressed that Burbank Airport is safe.

“There is no ruling that it is unsafe to fly. It is the position of the FAA and of the airlines, and certainly of this airport, that it is safe,” said Victor Gill, airport spokesman. “Most of the normal commerce will continue uninterrupted.”

Mike Krause, a Pasadena resident arriving at the airport to pick up his daughter, faced a minor interruption when he tried to park, however.

Instead of taking a ticket and breezing into the parking structure, Krause had to get out and unscrew the cellular telephone antenna from the rear window to allow his car to pass beneath a five-foot-high horizontal bar installed Monday to keep trucks, minivans and other large vehicles out of the main parking area.

“It’s a minor inconvenience. If it’s safer that way, I can live with taking a little more time to park,” Krause said.

“It’s very tight,” added Nadir Omar, a parking lot security attendant. “We have security people walking through all the parking lots, watching everything. It’s a very high alert, just in case.”