The nation's newly minted force of airport security screeners faces a dual test this holiday weekend - keeping people moving while keeping them safe as more Americans take to the skies than at any other point since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Yesterday, the screeners passed that test.
Snaking lines and steamed passengers, a staple at Baltimore-Washington International Airport a year ago, were nowhere to be found. Parking was plentiful, lines were short and flights were mostly on time.
"The real difference between this year and last year is that these lines are moving like it's nobody's business," said Jack Cahalan, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, as he surveyed the federal screeners at work.
Through most of the day, the average wait time at security checkpoints was seven minutes, screeners said. They added that savvy passengers who know the rules and extra security lanes were speeding up the process. The airport had 11 lanes at its security checkpoints last year; now there are 19, and all will be staffed this week.
The airport knocked down walls and moved businesses to make room for the extra scanners. Even the popular Oriole Bar - the airline's most lucrative tenant - was sacrificed for security. It has yet to reappear.
BWI officials expect to handle 648,000 passengers from Nov. 22 to Dec. 2 - 12 percent more than last year. On the busiest day of the year, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the airport expects 77,000 passengers. Officials say they're ready, and even the threat of snow doesn't faze them.
Forecasters say an inch of wintry precipitation could fall by this morning, just in time for the holiday rush.
"An inch?" scoffed BWI spokesman John White. "That won't be a problem. Planes can land and take off in up to 3 inches, but we don't let it get that bad."
Americans appear to have shaken their Sept. 11 jitters, but they still aren't traveling as much as they used to. The automobile club AAA says 35.9 million Americans will travel for Thanksgiving this year. That's 6 percent more than last year but still below the record highs reached in the 1990s.
"This is a big bounce back for the airline industry," said Lon Anderson, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "People feel comfortable, they do believe that traveling is safe, and they are doing it."
Nearly 31 million people plan to travel by car over the holiday, including 616,000 Marylanders, according to AAA. To help them along, the State Highway Administration is suspending all roadwork in Maryland from today through Sunday.
AAA predicts 5.1 million people will fly this Thanksgiving, up from 4.8 million last year, taxing federal security screeners who have been on the job less than a month at some airports.
BWI gets a jump
The Transportation Security Agency, which runs airport security, met the Nov. 19 deadline for having federal screeners in place at all of the nation's 429 commercial airports. BWI was the first airport to get the screeners, in May, giving them a big jump on this holiday weekend.
"The lines will be moving," said screener Wendy Rosemond. "I can't see it being that bad."
Travel industry experts say the screeners will be tested as never before. While there aren't as many passengers as in years past, the checks will be more rigorous and invasive. And most people flying this weekend aren't experienced business travelers.
"These are the crunch days," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. "The majority of leisure travelers on these two days are less experienced and may slow down the process."
As another layer of protection, BWI has installed five machines to screen checked baggage. About a third of the bags will go through the explosive-detecting machines. One warning for passengers: Don't pack any film in your checked bags. The machines' scanner will expose your holiday snapshots.
Few problems
Travelers at BWI reported few problems yesterday. Gary and Ginny Tressler, who drove their daughter to BWI from York, Pa., said roads were clear, parking was easy and the wait at the ticket counter was blessedly brief.
"The last time we were here, there were more security people than passengers, and it still took forever to get through," Gary Tressler said. Daughter Tammy, a junior at Shippensburg University, was headed to Chile to visit a friend.
She packed light: bathing suits, T-shirts and cranberry sauce. "My friend told me that was the only thing they couldn't find" for their Thanksgiving dinner, Tammy said. She'll miss her mother's cooking but said it's worth it. "It's right before finals, so I thought I need a vacation, I need warm weather and I need to see my best friend."
Amtrak expects about 545,000 travelers for Thanksgiving, a slight increase over the number last year.
"This holiday week is by far our busiest of the entire year," said Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel. The railroad is adding 58 trains to the Northeast Corridor to handle the load. About 100 trains will leave Baltimore's Penn Station today, compared with 84 on a typical weekday.
To some travelers, the trains looked better and better as the threat of snow loomed.
"What may overwhelm everything else in the Northeast is the weather," said Stempler, of the Air Travelers Association. "The last thing you want is bad weather on the day before Thanksgiving."
Asked whether he's going anywhere for the holiday, Stempler laughed and said, "What are you, nuts?"