Wednesday, November 21, 2001

Afraid to Fly?
TCU students are more worried about long lines at the
airport than actually flying during the holidays
By Sam Eaton
Staff Reporter

Despite the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, millions of Americans will use air travel to eat turkey with family. And TCU students will be among them.

While the attacks have given many Americans second-thoughts about flying, several TCU students said their flight plans remain unaltered.

Senior Spanish and speech communication major Shannon Johnson has flown since the attacks when she visited her parents in San Diego during fall break. She said her biggest worry was getting to the airport on time to check-in in case of long lines.

“I didn’t really have any apprehensions because I knew they’d heightened the security so much,” Johnson said. “I feel as safe as I would have before (the attacks).”

She said the distance was too far to drive, and her parents are not more concerned than usual.

“Stuff happens, but they’re being so cautious now,” Tyson said. “I do think that they’re really paying attention and that it’s actually safer than normal.”

Capt. Chris Manno, a pilot with American Airlines, said he is not nervous about flying since the attacks. he said he would feel comfortable putting his wife and family on a plane.

“What has happened before is really an isolated incident,” Manno said. “Now there’s so much concentration and so much further security that I’ve never had a problem flying.”

But not all students are as comfortable flying as the confident Johnson.

Senior speech communication major Melinda Edwards said a fear of more hijackings and attacks have increased her nervousness about flying.

Edwards said she plans to drive to Kansas City, Kan., and then on to Naples, Fla., but her plans include a return flight to Fort Worth. While her plans have not changed, she said she does not relish having to fly back.

Manno said although he could not list specific measures for security reasons, security improvements have been made.

“I have seen much greater accountability among airline personnel and focus,” Manno said. “Things are much-improved.”

Manno said one element includes security measures taken regarding food service. Catering trucks bring the food onto the runway, where it is then loaded onto the planes. New measures have increased security.

“The trucks that service the airplane come from a catering service about a mile away,” Manno said. “Now everything is sealed at that catering facility and inspected. The seals are numbered too, so when we get them on the aircraft, we know if they’ve been opened or not.”

Sophomore radio-TV-film major Megan Tyson said she had no second thoughts about flying home to visit her family in Albuquerque, N.M.

“I’m not really nervous about flying,” she said.

Like other TCU students, Tyson said security at airports is tighter and more effective in the wake of the attacks. Tyson said her father, a field operations coordinator with the Federal Aviation Administration, provided reassurance about airline travel.

Johnson said it was obvious when she went back to the airport the first time that security had increased.

“It was easy to see that the passengers were the only people who could go past the security gates,” Johnson said.

Airline personnel said they feel more confident as well.

Manno said he was pleased the numbers of passengers on his flights have been just as crowded as usual.

“In the flights that I’ve flown, we’re very full,” Manno said. “(On Nov. 12), on the day American Airlines Flight 587 crashed I flew from Palm Springs (Calif.) to Chicago and only had two empty seats.”

Sam Eaton
s.m.eaton@student.tcu.edu