DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Loren Johnson and his 22-month-old daughter, Kathryn,
made the best of it yesterday as other family members
waited in line to go through the Hawaiian Air security
checkpoint. Johnson and his family were headed for
Kauai to spend Thanksgiving with the grandparents.

Patience holds for
safety-conscious
passengers

Long waits are accepted by
Hawaii's holiday travelers

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By B.J. Reyes
breyes@starbulletin.com

Tara Yocam did not seem to mind that added security measures at Honolulu Airport kept her in line at a security checkpoint for more than an hour.

"I think it's worthwhile to have the extra security," said Yocam, who left Los Angeles yesterday with a stopover in Honolulu before heading on to Kauai. "I imagine that we should have been doing this a long time ago.

"Maybe if security had been tighter a long time ago, some of the problems that we've had would have been avoided."

Other passengers at Hono-lulu Airport expressed similar sentiments -- the added security was worth a little extra inconvenience, even on what traditionally is one of the busiest travel days of the year.

"I like the security that we've had," said Donna Dale, who was on her way to Maui after arriving from Seattle. "It was comforting to see the military guy with his booming voice directing us."

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Sean Asai, 10, tried to fight boredom yesterday as he
waited to go through the Hawaiian Airlines security
checkpoint with his father and mother, Alvin and
Ruth Asai. His family was going to Kona to
celebrate Thanksgiving.

Added security measures that have been in place since the Sept. 11 attacks include checks of vehicles entering the airport as well as random baggage searches. Throughout the country, travelers have been advised to arrive as early as three hours ahead of their scheduled flight because of anticipated delays.

Honolulu Airport had its share of lines yesterday.

At one point the line for a security checkpoint at the interisland terminal snaked out the door and down the majority of the length of the passenger drop-off area.

"It's needed, so you've got to start somewhere," said Leah Thayer, a University of Hawaii student on her way home to Kauai. "It can be a pain, but it's worth it in the long run."

Hawaii's two largest air carriers did their part to try and speed interisland travelers along. Both Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines added 18 flights to their regular schedules yesterday, with plans to also add flights on Sunday, to help interisland travelers in getting home.

Aloha has planned 23 additional flights on Sunday, spokesman Stu Glauberman said. Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said the company would be adding 20 flights.

Operations generally were OK yesterday, the spokesmen said, although there were some typical air travel delays with some passengers having to be placed on other flights or other planes because of mechanical problems.

Donna Philpott was among those who did not expect to be delayed.

On her way to San Antonio, Philpott arrived at the airport three hours early, only to find out that the mainland terminal was practically empty in the early afternoon.

"It's very quiet compared to other times," she said. "I'm very surprised."

She thought that perhaps the empty terminal was simply the result of the airlines doing an excellent job of getting people to their flights, but added that she understands how the nature of air travel has changed since Sept. 11.

"Maybe people are afraid," she said. "I understand some people are very afraid. In some ways I don't blame them."