Winging It Once Again

U.S. airline passengers were forced once again Thursday to adjust to new, hastily imposed security procedures. And for the most part they responded with an air of resigned acceptance, even as they filled garbage bins with expensive perfumes, bottled water, shampoo -- even fine wine.

“The last couple of years, you just get used to this kind of news,” said Richard Nilsen, 34, who was waiting at Los Angeles International Airport for a flight to London, en route to his home in Oslo, Norway. “Usually, I just take a bottle of water with me, so it’s not that big a deal.”

After some long lines and confusion early Thursday, airports across the country generally seemed to adapt to the new rules. By midafternoon, virtually all flights at LAX were running on or close to schedule.

“Every time I come here, it’s very crowded,” said Mike Crissey, a sales executive waiting for a United flight to Seattle late Thursday afternoon. “Today, I go through security and there’s one person in front of me. That’s unheard of.”

After British authorities said they had foiled a plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners with liquid explosives, federal transportation officials banned, at least for the moment, nearly all liquids and gels from aircraft cabins.

That meant not only no bottled water, but no contact lens solution, no lip gloss, no toothpaste, no latte, no deodorant.

Some of the newly designated contraband had a regional flavor. In Vermont, bins filled up with plastic jugs of maple syrup. In New Orleans, it was hot sauce. And at San Francisco International, “we understand we have a good collection of wine right now,” airport spokesman Douglas Lyon said.

“This is a real shame because a lot of people paid good money for some of this stuff,” said one security guard at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as she picked through the sundries.

“I guess now would be a good time to buy stock in Procter & Gamble,” a businessman cracked.

The rules were the latest uptick in security since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which prompted an overhaul of airport security. Some airport officials said the new changes, although relatively intrusive, caused less of a stir than some past upgrades that now seem almost innocuous, such as requiring passengers to remove coats and jackets when passing through security.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Los Angeles International and the San Francisco and Oakland airports, and the California Highway Patrol offered bomb-sniffing dogs, officers and aircraft to help commercial airports tighten security, state officials said. Federal officials elevated the terror alert to “code red,” the highest level, for all U.S.-bound flights from Great Britain.

The National Guard’s aim is to create a “highly visible presence” at major California airports, said Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II. The Guard troops were expected to be at LAX by dawn today.

Airport delays caused by the latest changes tended to be worst in the morning, when many passengers hadn’t yet heard about the British plot or the changes in procedure. Lines grew long and passengers testy as officials forced people to toss their liquids.

“It’s a nightmare, a nightmare,” complained Betty Murphy of Redondo Beach as she sorted through a brown leather valise packed with makeup, combs, vitamins, medicines and other items.

Murphy was at LAX, checking in for a morning flight to Monterey, where she was planning to attend a wedding.

“I can’t have Lip Dew and I can’t have vitamins with me,” she said. “I can’t even take a water bottle with me, and I can only drink spring water. I don’t know if they have that on the plane.”

An American Airlines agent tried to console her. There was, she said, only one way to get through such a day: “Smile.”

As advice went, it didn’t get much better than that. Some people found the idea harder to accept than others.

Outside of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, a group of four dancers, en route to their homes in Tahiti, hunched sadly over a white plastic bag full of perfume, toothpaste, deodorants and other toiletries. It was about to go in the trash. Jean Teiri, 23, frantically rubbed a roll-on deodorant under his arms one last time.

Said his traveling companion, Johnny Moise: “The airport didn’t give us information, and now every product here is going in the garbage. Not good, not good.”

Aida Farfan, 56, who was traveling to Peru, was distressed at the news that she would have to part with her perfumes, body lotions and deodorant.

“I don’t like that at all,” she said. “Especially on a long flight. Can you imagine? Not having your scents with you? All women want their scents with them.... I’ll feel incredibly uncomfortable, it being so hot.”

At John Wayne International Airport in Orange County, Seal Beach resident Zach Stegman, 22, was fed up by the time he got through an hour-long screening line shortly before 10 a.m. “I think it’s stupid to elevate the threat level, because they caught the guys,” he said. “Obviously, the screening measures they have in place are working.”

Security lines at San Francisco’s international terminal were exceptionally long and, unlike at some airports, grew longer throughout the day.

Takanori Ota, 27, from Niigata, Japan, had just come from hiking 311 miles on the John Muir Trail and was unaware of the news. Sunburned and mosquito-bitten, he stood in line looking confused and guzzling a Coke he would not be able to take on his Asiana Airlines flight to Tokyo through Seoul.

“The mountain was very peaceful,” he said. “This is complicated.”

Some of the worst lines were at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where at one point the security check-in line stretched through a terminal, across a pedestrian bridge, into a parking structure and then wrapped around itself six times, like a line at Disneyland.

“I travel out of this airport 15 to 20 times a year. I’ve been through a number of security alerts, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Dave Salzinger, 48, Seattle-based marketing director for a steel framing company. He stood in line for two hours before reaching the security gate, where he was hand-searched before being allowed into the boarding area.

Still, he added, “I’m amazed at how calm and happy everybody is. Nobody is upset -- that’s amazing.”

Screening for London-bound flights was especially strict. At LAX, British Airways passengers were given plastic bags to carry permitted objects, such as wallets, passports, tickets, prescription drugs, glasses, contact lens holders, keys and food, milk and diapers for infants.

Even in tiny Great Falls, Mont., where security procedures normally take only a few minutes, passengers found themselves -- or, more accurately, their hand-carried luggage -- subject to exacting searches.

“No lotions, no toothpaste, nothing liquid,” a screening agent with the Transportation Security Administration announced to a line of about 45 passengers Thursday morning.

“I’d been meaning to clean out my cosmetics bag,” said Linda Anne Avery, a nurse practitioner from Golden, Colo., about to fly to Denver after a visit with relatives in Montana. “So, that’s done!”

As part of the new security routine nationwide, passengers were screened at airline gates for beverages or toiletries bought in the airport.

That had a devastating effect on some airport businesses. A Body Shop at the Seattle airport, which usually sells oils, fragrances and lotions, closed up and posted this sign:

“Due to the current security directives from the Department of Homeland Security, the majority of our products cannot be purchased at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will visit another Body Shop location.”

Larry Fetters, the federal security director at LAX, said the TSA had canceled days off and put employees on 12-hour shifts.

Fetters was among the speakers at an LAX news conference called to reassure passengers that the airport and the city of Los Angeles were doing everything possible to ensure their safety.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience,” said Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton. “I hope you appreciate in this era, in this day and age, it is part of our lives.”

As such, it sometimes posed new challenges. Angie Magness of Lake Arrowhead had to find a spot in her suitcase for Cajun seasonings she was bringing home to California from a trip to Alabama.

She asked airport workers in Mobile to place “fragile” stickers on the suitcase and used small plastic shopping bags to separate the items.

She explained: “I didn’t want my lipstick tasting like shrimp gumbo.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

What you can’t take on a plane

Federal transportation officials have prohibited the following items from carry-on luggage and purses on all commercial flights.

Beverages

Including water, juice, milk, liquor, wine and other liquids.

Personal items

Gels or liquids, including perfume, makeup, toothpaste, sunscreen, lotion and shampoo.

Exceptions

Infant formula, breast milk and juice for babies; insulin and other liquid prescription medications in the name of ticketed passengers. Items are subject to inspection.

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Evolution of security screening

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, security screening at U.S. airports has evolved from banning all sharp objects to checking shoes for explosive devices. Here are some of the changes:

September 2001: Box cutters, scissors and similar objects are banned from the passenger cabins on commercial flights after three planes strike the two World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, and a fourth goes down in Pennsylvania after passengers try to reclaim the jetliner.

December 2001: U.S. security screeners require passengers to remove their shoes to be X-rayed after British citizen Richard Reid attempts to blow up a trans-Atlantic plane with explosives in his shoes.

August 2002: U.S. airport screeners permit passengers to carry open drink containers through metal detectors, but sealed plastic, glass and metal containers must be X-rayed.

July 2003: Transportation Security Administration clarifies the policy to no longer require that passengers remove shoes for X-ray but says shoes with metal shanks or steel toes require additional screening. Pat-downs are expanded to include arms and legs in addition to the upper torso.

April 2005: TSA bans cigarette lighters from commercial flight cabins.

December 2005: TSA announces that scissors less than 4 inches long and screwdrivers less than 7 inches can be carried onto commercial planes. Box cutters, crowbars and hammers are still off-limits.

August 2006: TSA bans most liquids and gels from carry-on bags, including beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, creams, toothpaste and hair gel. Some states deploy National Guard troops at airports to help with security.

Source: Reuters

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Times staff writers Sharon Bernstein, Amanda Covarrubias, Cara Mia DiMassa, Richard Fausset, Jessica Garrison, Scott Gold, Irfan Khan, Greg Krikorian, Sara Lin, Richard Marosi, Peter Nicholas, Charles Ornstein, Ashley Powers, James Ricci, Lee Romney, Deborah Schoch and Sam Howe Verhovek contributed to this report.