Students planning to fly over fall break may notice heightened security at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, but in other respects, the airport is recovering from the aftereffects of last month's attacks.
About 172 flights leave the airport each day, said RDU spokesperson Mirinda Kossoff. That compares to about 300 per day earlier this year, when Midway Airlines--an RDU-based carrier which has since filed for bankruptcy and ceased all operations--accounted for 115 of them.
The number of flights should continue to increase, Kossoff said; beginning Nov. 1, the business travel airline American Eagle will add 12 flights per day.
Kossoff estimated that the average number of seats occupied is also rising. "What we're seeing is that it's about 60 to 70 percent, and maybe getting closer to 70 percent at this point," she said. "So things are looking much better."
The biggest change passengers will notice will likely be the additional security precautions. According to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, every passenger must have some form of government-issued identification and is limited to one carry-on and one other personal item.
At security checkpoints, only passengers are allowed to pass through, and guards are screening passengers' laptops, outer garments and other items more closely, Kossoff said.
The FAA had earlier prohibited curbside check-ins, but it has since lifted that restriction, and some individual airlines are again offering the service.
National Guard members are also at the airport to enforce security, though Kossoff declined to reveal the exact number for safety reasons.
"If you're just walking around, you'll see them now and then, but it's not like there's this huge armed presence or anything," she said. "They're there to be a visible presence and a deterrent to any kind of terrorist activity and to assist at the checkpoints."
For the average traveler, the security precautions mean a longer wait. The airport is recommending that passengers--particularly in the early morning--arrive at least two hours before their flights' scheduled departure and not show up late.
"You might be able to get away with it, but you also risk missing your flight," Kossoff said. "Bring a book or a crossword or something."
Kossoff also cautioned against another potential problem for travelers. "You can't sit in your car at the curb," she said. "And if you leave it unattended for even two minutes, it's going to be towed."
Graduate student Jed Richardson, who plans to fly this weekend, said he flew earlier this week and did not run into significant problems. "Just a lot of guys with big guns," he said, referring to the National Guard patrols.
Richardson added that he did not have to wait for more than 40 minutes because business on a weekday afternoon was relatively slow. But he said he plans to arrive at the airport this weekend between one-and-a-half and two hours in advance.
Shahid Nimjee, another graduate student, said he did not plan to fly this weekend, though he said that decision was not a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He said that if he were traveling by air, he would be worried about racial profiling "because I don't look like the typical native American, whatever that is."
Kossoff said she did not believe RDU was engaging in any kind of racial profiling. "I doubt that we are," she said. "But if that's the case, [security officials] have their own procedures for identifying someone... and they're not going to want to talk about that."
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