Airport Security Increases

Raleigh-Durham International Airport officials are asking travelers to arrive early and prepare to wait.

Mirinda Kossoff, RDU communications manager, said students should arrive at the airport at least two hours early so they are on time for their flight after going through security.

"It's going to take longer -- come prepared to wait," Kossoff said. "Bring a book to entertain yourself."

Kossoff said RDU officials are expecting 200,000 people to pass through the airport during the four-day holiday weekend.

Airport officials will add an extra security checkpoint at Terminal A -- their busiest terminal -- and are taking other security precautions to cope with the crowds, Kossoff said.

"We now have four lanes instead of three," she said.

"We had to completely reconfigure the space, so that should make things quicker and easier."

Kossoff said there are several things students should be aware of when preparing to fly home.

"Passengers can only take one carry-on and one personal item, such as a briefcase or a purse," she said.

Kossoff said any sharp object found in carry-on luggage will be confiscated and will not be returned.

The items can be placed in checked luggage.

"(Anyone's) luggage is subject to random search, so pack light and don't pack anything you'd be embarrassed for anyone to see," Kossoff said.

She said guards will inspect any wrapped presents in luggage, suggesting that students either mail the presents or leave them unwrapped.

She added that people are not allowed to park on the curb in front of the terminals for any length of time. Any unattended cars parked curbside will be towed.

Kossoff said RDU security officers are ready to detain anyone or anything that looks unusual.

"Don't do anything unusual because, with the climate as it is now, you will be arrested for sure," she said.

She also said RDU officials are trying to keep passengers entertained while they wait.

"We have contracted with a number of musical groups to entertain the passengers," she said.

"The music will start during the Thanksgiving holiday."

Despite recent tragedies, UNC Senior hris Wickman, a chemistry major, said he is not nervous about flying home this Thanksgiving to Greendale, Wis.

"I'm not apprehensive because I've flown home many times before, but there are a lot of military personnel around," he said.

But altugh he has no securty concerns, Matt McGee, a UNC freshman from Lakewood, Fla., said he is worried about the time it will take at the airport.

"I'm not apprehensive about traveling, but I've noticed longer lines and armed guards all over the place," he said.

Kossoff said air travel will never be the same and that airport security will continue to get tighter because of the Sept. 11 tragedies.

"Sept. 11 has changed everything," she said.

"This is the beginning of a new era of air travel."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.