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By Jeff Horwich
Minnesota Public Radio
September 17, 2001
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As of Friday, the quick and casual approach is gone.
"Plans for security change have certainly accelerated," says Liz Costello, a spokeswoman for Mesaba Airlines. That airline operates the Northwest Airlink flights that are the bulk of the traffic at the state's regional airports.
"Things such as hand wands will be used. Carry-on bags will be physically searched. The safety and security of our passengers is our main concern," Costello says.
The hand-held metal detectors, pat-downs, and luggage searches will only be used until standard security checkpoint equipment arrives. Because they never served planes of more than 60 passengers, seven regional airports in Minnesota had been allowed to operate without the security check points. But in the immediate wake of last Tuesday's hijackings, airports in Bemidji, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, International Falls, St. Cloud, and Thief River Falls had this special status revoked.
"There has been a security amendment that requires us to do things that previously we didn't have to do for security," says Brian Ryks, the director of the St. Cloud airport. "Examples of that are increased law enforcement presence at the airport, and some parking restrictions."
A new rule says parked cars must be at least 300 feet away from a terminal. But at smaller airports, that would affect large numbers of parking spaces. Ryks says he quickly reached a compromise with the FAA at 100 feet, so only about 15 or 20 spaces have been lost. But no such compromise has come in places like Bemidji, where the airport director has blocked off nearly the entire parking lot.
Ryks says most of these changes were already planned, but they weren't to take effect until next June. It's too soon to know how much of the cost will be defrayed by the FAA. The biggest cost to Ryks and the city of St. Cloud is keeping a police officer on duty during working hours. It falls to Mesaba Airline to pay for heightened security at the gate.
"We obviously know that it is going to be a significant cost, and we know that we will be absorbing a significant portion of that. As far as exactly how much, we don't know at this time," says Mesaba spokeswoman Liz Costello.
The passenger screening procedure is left deliberately vague by Mesaba and the FAA. Airport officials say they are employing "selective screening." Costello says Mesaba intends to screen and search everyone.
Cheryl Metzger, waiting for a friend to arrive on an afternoon flight, has flown out of this airport many times and enjoyed the convenience. She's happy to sacrifice a bit of it for the sake of safety - but still finds it hard to believe the changes are really necessary here.
"Maybe I shouldn't feel that confident about little town St. Cloud, but I don't see any terrorists coming around here," Metzger says.
Regional airport officials might also have balked at the additional security in these friendly places. But after last week they to seem resigned to the reasoning of the FAA - better safe than sorry.
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