Attack closes airport

Karen S. Kim

BURBANK -- Jacque Wray had already fastened her seat belt, received

her serving of juice and settled in for a smooth ride Tuesday morning

when she and other passengers were ordered off of an Alaska Airlines

flight headed for Portland, Ore., from Burbank Airport.

“At first I couldn’t figure out what was going on,” said Wray, 58,

whose flight was to stop in Oregon before flying to her home in Boise,

Idaho. “But then we sat in the airport watching TV with tears rolling

down our cheeks.”

Wray’s flight was one of 163 flights canceled at

Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport on Tuesday after the Federal Aviation

Administration shuttered all commercial airports in the United States

following early morning terrorist attacks on the East Coast.

Burbank Airport could reopen today following the FAA’s authorization.

The FAA’s decision to shut down air traffic Tuesday came immediately

after two hijacked commercial jets crashed into the World Trade Center in

New York City, one jet smashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and

a fourth jet went down in Pennsylvania.

The passenger lists of United Airlines flights 93 and 175 have been

turned over to federal authorities for a criminal investigation and will

not be released publicly until authorized, airline officials said.

The passenger lists of American Airlines flights 11 and 77 were

expected to be released late Tuesday.

Burbank Airport officials received notification from the FAA to shut

down operations at 6:29 a.m. Tuesday. No flights departed from Burbank

Airport, though one scheduled Southwest Airlines flight from Phoenix

landed safely in Burbank at 7:10 a.m.

In addition, Southwest Airlines flight 812 from Oakland to San Diego

was diverted to Burbank Airport. Southwest bused stranded passengers down

to San Diego.

“You basically had people understanding the situation, cooperating and

acting responsibly,” said Victor Gill, spokesman for the Airport

Authority. “They were making an abnormal situation as normal as

possible.”

Eight Burbank Police officers were called to the airport to increase

security. The airport has its own 17-member police force, though not all

of its members are on duty at one time.

The airport’s main terminal was nearly deserted Tuesday morning as

about a dozen stranded passengers waited on the sidewalk or in the

airport restaurant.

“I’d rather be off the plane than on the plane and have something

happen,” said Rosemary Borlina, 36, of Tehachapi, after her flight to

Dallas was canceled. “I was actually kind of relieved that we didn’t take

off.”

Southwest Airlines, which handles about 65% of Burbank Airport’s

activity, is refunding tickets for any passengers with reservations,

setting up hotel rooms and arranging ground transportation for its

stranded passengers, airline officials said.

*

INFO

For information about Burbank Airport’s operations:

(818)840-8840 or o7 www.burbankairport.comf7

For airline information on canceled flights and reservations:

Alaska*(800)426-0333

America West*(800)235-9292

American*(800)433-7300

Southwest*(800)435-9792

United*(800)241-6522

For information about Tuesday’s plane crashes:

American Airlines (800)245-0999

United Airlines (800)932-8555

o7 www.united.comf7 and o7 www.aa.com

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