New Security Rules Leave Workers Idle

Brookstone clerk Edward Enage stood Monday in front of a four-foot pile of nail clippers, gardening tools and other sharp objects that were pulled from shelves at Los Angeles International Airport. Police went through the store last week, identifying potentially dangerous goods.

“They don’t even want tweezers,” Enage said.

As LAX came fully to life Monday, passengers and workers got a taste of just how different it will be.

From now on, passengers no longer can arrive by private car, nail clippers are forbidden and the fruit floating in bar drinks must be sliced off-site.

New security measures that prohibit airport stores and concessions from stocking virtually any item that could be used as a weapon have produced odd, even laughable, side effects.

Sandwiches, limes and lemons, for example, are being sent to an airport commissary to be sliced because bartenders can no longer keep knives.

“You can tell things aren’t normal when your bartender has to gnaw a big hunk out of your lemon, because he can’t use a knife,” one airline executive said.

Workers and executives fear even superficial changes could threaten airport jobs and income if inconvenience and delays prompt enough travelers to stay home.

While many travelers appreciated the extra security, at least one airport employee thought it went a bit too far.

Waitress Rene Lorenz complained that security guards searched her purse, rifling through her makeup.

“They were looking for a nail file,” Lorenz said. “I said: ‘It’s an emery board!’ ”

Domestic travel was more profoundly impacted Monday than international trips.

The Bradley International Terminal was crowded, a relief to workers who had feared for their livelihoods. In the food court, where Leandra Gomez sweeps the floors and empties trash cans, every table was full.

“I was worried that I might come today and there would be no people and no job,” said Gomez, who supports two children on her $7-an-hour job.

By contrast, the Southwest Airlines concourse was nearly empty, slowing concession business to a drip.

Stores have been unable to restock because UPS is not allowed into the terminal. It hardly matters, vendors said.

Bars and restaurants have cut back on shifts for waiters and waitresses. Largely idle, wait staffs are increasingly parched for tips.

“What tips?” said Lorenz, a waitress at Home Turf. “They ought to put a bar in the parking lot.”

Although there have been no layoffs yet, parking attendants, skycaps and other airport workers voiced fears they may be inevitable.

With passengers no longer allowed to reach the terminals in private cars, only in taxis and shuttles, parking attendant Silvia Tacarena was guarding a mostly empty lot Monday rather than handling the usual traffic snarls.

“I would not be surprised if I was laid off,” Tacarena said, seemingly resigned to the situation. “I wouldn’t have any idea what to do. There are not as many jobs out there as there were last year.”

Joe Houston, general manager for Smarte Carte, which rents luggage carts at LAX, has assured his 100 employees their jobs are safe, but acknowledges he is watching the stock market to see if airline losses could change that.

“We’re trying to stay as busy as possible,” Smarte Carte worker Julio Pereira said. “And if you’re not busy you try to look busy.”

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Times staff writer Joe Mathews contributed to this story.