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Lowcountry airports avoid chaos

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The long security lines and traveling headaches faced by fliers around the country Thursday passed over airports in the Lowcountry.

But travelers arriving at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and Hilton Head Island Airport told of long lines and confusing instructions at major metropolitan airports.

Island resident Joan Hughes left LaGuardia Inter-national Airport in New York at 6:40 a.m. Thursday. But she had to leave roughly $200 worth of Chanel No. 5 and Chanel lip gloss behind at the security checkpoint.

Although security lines wound from the checkpoint to the curb in New York, Hughes said people weren't told about the liquid restrictions until after they checked their bags.

"People had no idea what was going on and why they had to do this," Hughes said.

Frank and Ginny Duffy, who were flying from the island to end up in the Milwaukee suburbs Thursday night, had to repack in the morning to make sure all their toiletries were in their checked bags.

At the airport, they had to move 10 pounds of items from one bag to another to meet baggage weights at Hilton Head. Otherwise, their travel plans were the same because they learned far enough in advance about the changes.

"Obviously it was a shock," Frank Duffy said of learning of the rules changes Thursday morning.

"This is the typical British thorough understanding of the problem," he said, praising how calmly word of the latest terror threat was disseminated.

At the airport in Savannah, Dennis Morris described a tough situation at Philadelphia International Airport. During his 90 minutes in the security line, he saw plenty of people run afoul of the new rules.

"Walking up the aisle, there was toothpaste, hair gel and perfume," Morris said. "People were just leaving it laying around."

A frequent business traveler, Morris said he'd probably start checking luggage instead of buying new toiletries when he arrives in each city.

Scott Lauretti, a Savannah resident flying to New York for business, felt the opposite way. He still had his toothpaste and contact lens solution in his bag, and he refused to check it.

"I'm willing to throw it away, but we'll see what happens," Lauretti said while waiting to go through the security checkpoint.

Gloria Reisweber and her son, Jared, were in Savannah to look at colleges for him. The Buffalo, N.Y., family's flight from Savannah to Atlanta was delayed, but they weren't certain why.

Still, they were surprised how smooth the changes happened and how short the lines were in Savannah.

"We were happy when we pulled up and saw nobody outside," Reisweber said.

Patrick Graham, executive director of the Savannah airport, said his airport had all the changes implemented by their first rush of flights at 6 a.m.

There were no delays in Savannah caused by the rules change, and it seemed like there were very few items that had to be thrown away by travelers, he said, adding that there were very few complaints by customers.

The airport was required to post a police officer at the security checkpoint, he said. Savannah has roughly 38 flights and 3,000 passengers per day.

At Hilton Head Island Airport, there were no problems with the change in regulations, said Paul Andres, interim airport director.

"Everything went well today from everyone's perspective," Andres said.

Contact Jim Faber at 706-8137 or . To comment on this story, please go to islandpacket.com.

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