Teams Prepared for Impact of Tighter Airport Security

Before Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Angels and Dodgers were usually driven right onto airport tarmacs, enabling players to step from the team bus onto the charter flights taking them to their next destination.

Before Tuesday, when the Angels or Dodgers completed a road series, equipment, uniforms and team supplies were packed in bags and cases, loaded onto a truck at the stadium, driven to the airport and usually loaded right onto the plane, without being X-rayed or checked for possible explosives.

Both practices will likely be eliminated if, as expected, the Federal Aviation Administration institutes stricter security guidelines for charter flights, measures that will cause delays for teams at the airport but will make players feel even safer than they already do in the air.

“Things are going to be tightened up,” said Derrick Hall, senior vice president of communications for the Dodgers. “Everybody is accounted for on a charter, but in light of what’s happened, we owe it to everyone to take these precautions. We’re expecting delays and random searches. We’ve prepared the players to expect that. It’s going to slow down the process, but for good reason.”

Ken Higdon, Angel equipment manager, locks the team’s cases before they are loaded onto a truck by clubhouse employees in the visiting stadium. He also accompanies the truck to the airport and oversees the loading of the plane, making sure nothing is tampered with.

Now, luggage will likely be X-rayed and checked by airport security personnel, and players, much as they do when passing through customs in Canada, will likely have to pass through security checkpoints inside the airport before boarding their charter.

“It’s wise, it’s for our protection,” Higdon said. “Everything is locked and safe, but it’s to everyone’s benefit to get [it] looked at.”

Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman said baseball has issued several security directives pertaining to travel. He didn’t want to divulge them but acknowledged that “things are going to be different. There’s information flowing from MLB that has to do with everything we do, from how we operate the stadium to security in the stadium to how we travel.”

Players were very open to the increased security measures, even if that meant more travel delays.

“So, it takes a little extra time to travel, big deal,” Angel center fielder Darin Erstad said. “I’ve always believed you can never be too safe. This [tragedy] has opened everyone’s eyes even wider to an issue that was already out there.”