Published: Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Regional airport's policy in line with nationwide security changes
An extra 15 minutes might be required to get through security.
By ED RUNYAN
VIENNA — Like all airports across the United States and Britain, the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport has reacted to last week's foiled hijacking plot with greater security measures.
But don't expect the kind of long lines here that have been reported in some larger airports, said Steve Bowser, the local airport's director of aviation.
In Britain, investigators foiled a plot in which terrorists planned to detonate liquid explosives on about a dozen airplanes simultaneously.
The result was that airports banned liquids or gels brought into the passenger cabins such as beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, creams, toothpaste and hair gel.
Bowser said the local airport is getting phone calls asking for clarification of its policies.
What's allowed
He said the local guidelines are the same as elsewhere. The following items are allowed in carry-on luggage: Baby formula; prescription medicines that match the passenger's name; essential nonprescription medicines such as insulin; food, unless it has a gel-like consistency; and electronic items such as laptops, CD players and iPods.
Bowser added that the new limits only affect items carried onto the plane. The banned liquids and gels are still permitted to be stored in checked luggage, he said.
As for long lines, Bowser said he doesn't anticipate any here. He said the tightened security measures here could slow the processing of passengers a little. He recommends showing up about 10 to 15 minutes earlier than they did before the scare.
He had previously advised arriving about 90 minutes before the departure time on flights through Allegiant Air. The low-cost airline makes flights to and from Sanford International Airport near Orlando on Fridays and Mondays.
He said the industry-standard of arriving two hours before flights may still not be necessary here, but two hours would be better than 90 minutes "at least initially."
Airlines being affected the most by the new security measures are ones handling international flights.
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