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Dayton airport travelers notice little difference in security measures

Dayton International Airport Police K-9 Officer Mike Lawson takes out sniffing dog Quinn for their rounds through bag claims at Dayton International Airport Monday, Dec. 28.

Teesha McClam Dayton International Airport Police K-9 Officer Mike Lawson takes out sniffing dog Quinn for their rounds through bag claims at Dayton International Airport Monday, Dec. 28.

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Teesha McClam Riel Becker of Reading, Ohio, who plays the bagpipes, talks about airport security at Dayton International Airport Monday, Dec. 28.

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By Tom Beyerlein, Staff Writer Updated 2:13 AM Tuesday, December 29, 2009

VANDALIA — Reil Becker had to perform an impromptu concert at a German airport last summer to prove to a security officer that the bagpipes in her carry-on weren’t some kind of elaborate Celtic pipe bomb.

The Reading woman encountered no such scrutiny as she went through the airport security checkpoint in Denver on Monday, Dec. 28, to board her plane to Dayton International Airport. The bagpipes sailed through security in their case, and the Transportation Security Administration didn’t even look through her purse.

“But on the plane, it was a lot more intense,” Becker said. “Nobody was allowed to get out of their seats” except to use the lavatory.

Travelers interviewed at the Dayton airport Monday said they didn’t notice any difference in security at the airports on their itineraries in the wake of the failed Christmas Day terrorism incident on an American airliner traveling from the Netherlands to Detroit. Al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing by a Nigerian national.

The Associated Press reported that in-flight security rules have been loosened after two days of restrictions. Passengers can move about the cabin and have items in their laps during the last part of flights, at the pilots’ discretion. At some U.S. airports, lines were longer and screeners were more meticulous in searching through bags.

Dayton airport spokeswoman Linda Hughes said “there certainly has been an increased vigilance” locally since the Detroit incident, but wait times haven’t lengthened.

Juan Fox of Quincy, Mass., who was in Cincinnati visiting relatives, arrived at the Dayton airport 2 1/2 hours early for his flight home, only to find a nearly empty airport where travelers moved through security with apparent ease.

“I did come here early, just in case,” he said. “I don’t know what to expect. I just heard they’re more likely to go through your bags that you’re carrying on, so I have to expect it.”

Vincent Edley of St. Louis travels by air all but six weeks a year. He said he finds the Dayton airport “the easiest to get through,” though he believes security is somewhat lax compared to larger airports.

He said attention to security nationally seems to ebb and flow. “We get lax” when there have been no terrorist incidents for awhile, he said. “When something happens, we react.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2264 or tbeyerlein@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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The time to do the security is at the airport, not once you are up in the plane. These people are getting better at hiding their instruments of destruction, and they know that it is politically incorrect to ask them to do a full body check at the airport. We must make sure that terrorists are not allowed to be boarded in the first place. These lists that are kept should be consolidated. We must not ignore warnings of terrorism. Perhaps it's time to start profiling again.

Squirrellygirl
1:18 PM, 12/29/2009

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Tight Security a Must!
All airports...big & small!
We must be diligent all the time!
If you don't like the security measures,
don't fly...simple as that!
Stay Home or Drive!
Evil ones are in our midst!

holly
10:34 AM, 12/29/2009

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I want my back covered when I am up in the air with my feet off of the ground. I guess arrival time all depends on the area of the country you are leaving from and the size of the airport.

Sunny
7:21 AM, 12/29/2009

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