WEEKLY NEWS 2: Travellers Get Nowhere

By JEREMY COX (Click here to read about the writer)
Scripps Howard Foundation Wire

Skies were clear and so was Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday, a day after a commercial jet slammed into the Pentagon, less than six miles northwest of the usually busy airfield.

On a day of pristine flying conditions at National, the threat of terrorism grounded all aircraft there as well as around the rest of the country. Although the Federal Aviation Administration had considered allowing national air traffic to resume at several points throughout the day, all flights remained grounded until further notice.

Despite Tuesday’s terrorist attacks that left the nearby Pentagon in shambles and destroyed both World Trade Center towers in New York, officials were not taking any extra security precautions at National or Washington Dulles International Airport, said Jonathan Gaffney, spokesman for the Metro Washington Airport Authority.

Passengers were allowed to recover their luggage and cars beginning at 3 p.m. at both airports, he said. Meanwhile, the airport authority was in meetings throughout the day with the FAA and individual airlines to determine when air traffic could resume.

“What we’re doing is making the airports ready should they be needed this evening,” Gaffney said.

As for those flights that were rerouted or cancelled because of the terrorist attacks: “That’s the big question,” Gaffney replied. “There are significant challenges in returning the system. It has been down for over 24 hours; it’s going to take awhile to get things going again.”

About 40,000 passengers pass through National on a usual day, Gaffney said. Wednesday, of course, was not that kind of day.

The typically noisy airport was quiet. One of the few sounds was the whoosh of the Metro as it sped past without stopping. Only essential employees were working. An electronic message on the front of airport shuttle buses advised that the service was operating for employees only.

There was little activity on the tarmac, where commercial jets and airplanes of several airlines were parked. Some baggage workers were visible near the aircraft. No airport authority officers could be seen in the area.

It was a slow day for most airport personnel. Many spent the day sitting in the airport’s courtesy wheelchairs, smoking and reading magazines as if they were relaxing in lawn chairs.

“It’s boring,” said one airport authority officer as he stood in front of B Terminal, talking to fellow employees. “We’re just doing what we got to do to keep this place safe,” he added.

One airline employee who refused to be identified said he was being paid double time to work.

“I was at my home, and they called me out here,” the uniformed man remarked as he walked between terminals. “So they’ve got to pay me.

“No one is getting out of here today,” the man went on, nodding toward the resting aircraft. “Those planes are staying on the ground.”

During the day, a few people trickled into National, hoping to find out about cancelled flights and lost luggage.

Karen Hamilton of Manassas, Va., arrived at the airport at 11:30 a.m. with her husband, hoping to retrieve luggage she hadn’t seen since her flight, ATA 133, took off from San Francisco early Tuesday. Hamilton, who is the owner of Aeromedical Transport Specialists, was turned away by a security officer and told to try later that day.

“We’re missing a lot of medical equipment,” including three suitcases and a portable stretcher, Hamilton said.

Hamilton explained that her flight was one of the last to reach the ground Tuesday before the FAA halted all air traffic. The airplane was on its final approach when passengers on the left side saw an aircraft crash, she said, exploding in a seven-story-tall fireball.

“We did not know it was the Pentagon,” Hamilton said. “We had thought a plane crashed at the airport somewhere.” Hamilton’s flight was diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport.

Surrounded by their luggage, two travelers sat under the partial shade of a shuttle stop Wednesday around 11:30 a.m. as they waited for National Airport to open. Both had missed flights Tuesday.

Pam Hinds of Memphis had been in town since Friday for a meeting at the Institute of Medicine.

“(My flight) was actually supposed to go yesterday, so we’re just out here very hopeful that we get to go home today,” she said.

Her flight was rescheduled for 2:50 p.m. Wednesday, but the airport remained closed. She said she would just reschedule.

Hinds’ family expressed concern after Tuesday’s events kept her in D.C.

“My 17-year-old son called me last night and said ‘Mom, do you want me to come get you?’ I said, ‘No, stay where you are.’ I could just see him trying to drive up here from Memphis,” Hinds said with a laugh.

Sitting beside Hinds was Sam Ruvolo, who was in the nation’s capital on business with the American Legion.

He hoped to get back home to Las Vegas on Wednesday and was not wary of flying, he said. He also plans to fly to Reno, Nev., at the end of the week.

“It’s time to go, so go,” Ruvolo said. “It’s still the safest way to travel.” Click here to tell us what you think about this story!

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