Now, Skies Have Limits

Fewer flights, sober mood

By Errol A. Cockfield Jr | STAFF WRITER

September 17, 2001

Sentimental, romantic ... the young man and woman held each other yesterday in the clear Sunday light at Kennedy Airport.

Anne Kennedy's ticket read 7:50 p.m., Aer Lingus, Ireland, but boyfriend Sean Flaherty delivered her five hours early and wheeled her luggage in a cart.

"We didn't know what the traffic would be like with security and everything," Kennedy said, showing a cautious smile.

This became the pervasive scene at local airports over the weekend as the skies opened up to commercial jets, and passengers, some timid, others cocksure, filled their cabins.

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon last week wounded the already suffering airline industry, which in some cases cut the number of scheduled flights by as much as 20 percent when they resumed Friday. As of late yesterday, about 4,800 aircrafts were aloft in U.S. skies, about two-thirds the volume of a typical Sunday, accordng to the Federal Aviation Administration.

But the industry's trims were evident at many airports, where long lines snaked through lobbies and passengers faced cancellations and delays. The mood was staid.

Yesterday, Newark Airport operated at 75 percent of its normal capacity with 706 total flights. Kennedy Airport reached 50 percent with 514 total flights. And 500 flights took off from LaGuardia, which also operated at half its capacity. Republic Airport in Farmingdale, the state's fifth busiest, saw only three arrivals and six departures yesterday.

"Virtually everything short of a handful of commercial jets are grounded," said Republic spokesman Gary Lewi.

Federal and local transportation officials urged travelers to contact airlines ahead of time and to arrive at airports at least two hours before their flights were scheduled to depart.

"We have a lot of people that are trying to get on flights," said Dan Bledsoe, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "With increased security it's going to take people longer."

Eileen Carney's United Airlines flight to Australia had been canceled four times since Thursday, and yesterday she sat flipping through a magazine, waiting in a terminal.

"My whole family was planning to come here at Christmas, but that needs to be reassessed," she said, speaking about the recent violence. "My sense is there'll probably be more."

According to Federal Aviation Administration officials, the city's three major airports had completed a security certification. As of late yesterday, though, federal officials still maintained a 25-mile, no-fly zone around New York City and Washington, D.C.

Yesterday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta announced the formation of two "rapid response teams," which will review the national aviation system and report to him by Oct. 1.

Mineta said, "Our efforts must now turn to developing long-term, sustainable security improvements within our airports and the aircrafts themselves as we continue to provide all Americans the highest possible levels of safety."