John Wayne Edges Toward Normal

The number of passengers at John Wayne Airport dropped by 46% after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, though officials remain optimistic that more travelers will eventually return.

John Wayne’s woes are part of a nationwide downturn in air travel as a jittery public has second thoughts about flying after the hijacking of four airliners. County officials predict a loss this year of about $9 million because of the airport slowdown and expect to spend an additional $12 million on added security.

In the first snapshot of how the airport is faring since its Sept. 13 reopening, officials said 201,559 passengers used John Wayne through the end of September. Last year during that same period, 373,337 passengers traveled through the airport.

“The numbers reflect what air carriers are experiencing nationwide,” said John Wayne spokeswoman Yolanda Perez. “The flights are there, but the passenger loads are not.”

The airport could not provide daily passenger totals from September or October, but Perez said that crowds have been bigger this week, especially for the early-morning weekday flights as well as Friday and Sunday night flights.

On Friday, John Wayne Airport took one step closer to normal operations when limited curbside check-ins resumed and skycaps returned to action for the first time since the attacks. But it was also the scene of a security scare.

That afternoon, a man bound for Phoenix on an America West flight was detained by the FBI after several sharpened screwdrivers were found in his rental car.

The rental car company discovered the screwdrivers and contacted authorities after the man returned the car, said America West spokesman Mike Denny.

Takeoff of America West Flight 221 was delayed for more than 3 1/2 hours after federal agents detained the man before he boarded.

Denny said the Boeing 737 was about to leave with 119 passengers. After the passengers left the plane, the airline ran a thorough check of the aircraft and luggage, Denny said. Passengers were allowed to re-board at 7 p.m., and the plane departed a few minutes later.

FBI officials released few details about the incident and declined to identify the man involved. “There’s really not much we can say,” said Matt McLaughlin, a spokesman for the FBI’s Los Angeles office.

Members of the California National Guard, who began patrolling Los Angeles and San Francisco international airports Friday, are expected to be deployed at John Wayne next week.

“We’ve done a good job of implementing our security measures, and the presence of the National Guard may give some further reassurance that it’s safe to fly,” Perez said.

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Times staff writer Mai Tran and the Associated Press contributed to this report.