Added JWA Security Tests Patience

Don Horcher usually allows an hour to get from his marketing firm in Orange County to John Wayne Airport, check in and board his plane for Hawaii with minutes to spare.

After learning about heightened security procedures that went into effect Friday at the Orange County terminal -- including funneling all traffic through two entrances and subjecting vehicles to random searches -- he arrived two hours in advance.

A good thing too, because it took an extra 30 minutes during the morning rush hour to slog through the line of cars backed up on MacArthur Boulevard to even get to the checkpoint at the airport’s southernmost entrance, on Campus Drive.

“Normally you come in and out -- it’s easy,” said Horcher, 45, who also stood in line 30 minutes more than usual at the check-in counter. Ten minutes into his wait at the terminal’s security screening, the regular air commuter said the waiting seemed “like forever.”

Airports nationwide have tightened security since the Bush administration warned Feb. 7 of an increased threat of terrorist attacks. The federal Transportation Security Administration has ordered airports to conduct random vehicle inspections outside their terminals.

John Wayne closed the Michelson Drive and MacArthur Boulevard entrances. Drivers heading to the airport were funneled to the Campus Drive entrance or the northern entrance from the southbound Costa Mesa Freeway.

Many early-morning passengers, most of whom were using the Campus Drive entrance, waited an average of 20 minutes to get through the roadway inspection, an airport spokeswoman said. But traffic at the entrance from the Costa Mesa Freeway was light.

For most who endured bumper-to-bumper traffic, the wait brought peace of mind.

“It’s worth it to make sure I’m getting on a flight safely. I’d wait in line for 10 hours for that,” said Debbie McGrory, 38, who was heading home to St. Louis.

Brenda Brask, 43, who said lines at John Wayne haven’t been this long since immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, welcomes “any measures that are going to prevent any acts that are going to happen, whether it’s terrorism or someone doing something stupid.”

Not everyone had such an understanding attitude.

Bruce Geltman, 44, was becoming increasingly worried that long lines would make him miss his flight home to Providence, R.I.

“[The waiting] will bother me more as it gets closer to my flight,” he said. “It elevates my stress level.”

But while Geltman grudgingly puts up with lines, screening and random checks at airports, he said he doubts those measures will prevent terrorists from hijacking a plane or planting a bomb.

“Is this going to stop someone from getting through?” he said pessimistically, pointing to the trail of people toting carry-on luggage.

Thomas Barry, 70, of Dana Point agreed.

Airport police searched his car, but not thoroughly, he said. The officers asked him to open his trunk, then glanced at the bags, which, for all they knew could have contained weapons, he said.

“I don’t know if it was that good a search,” said Barry, who dropped his grandson off at the airport. “I don’t feel insecure in the first place. But I don’t feel any more secure.”