The September 11th attack
Airport ritual died Sept. 11

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

To you, sweetheart, aloha ... aloha from the bottom of my heart ...

Beefed up airport security is causing more people, including Lawrence Kempista and Sarah Masuda, to say their goodbyes at the curb. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Sort of takes the romance out of that old song lyric, doesn't it?

And it takes the romance out of airport farewells. Of course, crusty kama'aina will tell you the romance at Honolulu International Airport died decades ago, back when it gained its international middle name and lost its breezy, rattan-chair charm.

Still, the institution of new security procedures aimed at snaring terrorists — which recently intensified with federal orders for even tighter inspections — has thrown another huge bucket of ice water on the old practice of airport meetings with friends and lovers departing for a long absence.

Some habits haven't changed. Jose Guevarra, manager of the Philippine National Bank's Honolulu office, recently returned from a trip to Manila and, like many Filipinos going home for a visit, he persisted in bringing his permitted pair of 70-pound balikbayan boxes, the traditional care packages filled with food and clothes. En route home, Guevarra packed new boxes with gifts he bought in Guam; because they were from a U.S. territory, they were checked less thoroughly than those he saw coming in from the Philippines.

"If you come from other countries, they try to open it up," he said.

Guevarra has changed his carry-on packing routines. He buys his razor upon arrival, rather than tempt the fates at the security checkpoints.

"I don't bring any sharp objects," he said. "I don't want that I be delayed.

"They are very strict in the Philippines. I observe here they are also strict."

However, he noticed a slight loosening of security in Honolulu — perhaps "because they are more concerned about the (state's) income, that the tourists would not get scared."

Erik Okazaki, head athletic trainer at the University of Hawai'i, said he has managed to slide by with a razor on his most recent trip with the football team. Whether that's because of relaxed security, a simple oversight or the fact that he's bundled with a group is unclear, he said.

The most visible sign that the airport has entered a martial era, he said, is the National Guard presence. But he's not complaining.

"They stick out," he said. "But it just gives you peace of mind."

Not everyone feels as sanguine about the airport's current atmosphere. Hilda Montoya, port director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspection service, said the silence in the moments between the passenger rush hours can be hard to take.

"It is desolate," she said. "There are a lot less people around. You don't get the people who used to come with the passengers, the well-wishers ... they just drop them off now."

Like it or not, the airport is a changed place. Where once residents came and went freely, loved ones now drop passengers at the curb as often as not.

The tearful send-offs, piles of lei, and even serenades and impromptu hula performances may be history.

College freshmen such as Isaiah Aipa, who left his Kailua home bound for Portland State University shortly after Sept. 11, was disappointed that the tradition wouldn't extend to him.

"When I found out that the airport wasn'tÊgoing to allow anybody to pass (through) the metal detectors without a plane ticket, I was pretty bummed out," he said via e-mail.

His family decided to have a farewell party at home the night before he left.

"But it wasn't the same," Aipa said. "I seriously think that the airports are pushing this a little too far. Shouldn't the security before you get to the gates be safe enough?"

His mother, Hilary, who remembered seeing people right onto their planes, took a different stance. Her chief concern upon Isaiah's departure was not the absence of a party atmosphere but the presence of danger.

"I'd rather have the safety and security, that everybody is on the plane and it's all checked out," she said.

Meanwhile, increased security has taken a toll on lei sellers, to be sure. Most of those who sell at the stands near the parking area say business has dropped off dramatically. Those who sell within the terminal have moved more inventory to the lei carts positioned at baggage claim, said Peter Fithian, president of Greeters of Hawaii, a firm that both employs greeters who meet passengers at the gate and runs flower shops within the concourse.

"If they don't mind having their identity checked, they can drive right into the parking garage, they can walk into the baggage claim area and meet people," Fithian said. "It's common in other places, but here because of our great tradition, we never wanted it to happen."