Posted on: Thursday, November 22, 2001

Holiday air travel less hectic than expected

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Honolulu International Airport got through its first full holiday rush with increased post-Sept. 11 security yesterday and, like most of the nation, found that the experience wasn't so bad.

Pre-Thanksgiving travel peaked in the early afternoon with long lines and some flight delays, but by early evening the airport was mostly back to laid-back normal.

"It was kind of steady, but I expected worse," said Tennyson Tom, a porter-skycap for Aloha Airlines.

Tom said that when he arrived for work in the early afternoon, a line to get through Hawaiian Airlines' security swiveled up one end of the interisland terminal and back down to the other.

But by late afternoon, the line was gone and Tom was casually waiting for his next passenger.

"People were very nice about it," Tom said. "They knew they had to come early, and they knew there were going to be delays, but it turned out not to be worse than other holidays."

Casey Hulten, who was traveling with her 3-year-old son, Kaliko, from Hilo to Honolulu to spend the holidays with relatives in Kailua, got to the Hilo airport at 2:30 p.m. for a 4:30 flight that eventually left about 5:15.

"Look," she said, managing a smile. "All my flowers are starting to wilt already."

Other passengers said the scene was a little more intense inside the terminals, where delays and full flights had some wondering if they'd make it home in time for the holidays.

"It seemed like it was getting a little crazy for a while," said Tim Marr, a University of Hawai'i-Hilo student who was flying home to spend the holidays with his family in Mililani. "I mean, you don't usually see that kind of crowd in Hilo."

Similar less-than-expected delays were reported across the country. Officials expected this year's Thanksgiving travel to be lighter than in most years because of the weakened economy and fear of flying after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The number of holiday air passengers in the United States was expected to decrease to about 16.5 million from 20 million last year, said Diana Cronan, a spokeswoman for the Air Transport Association, which represents airlines.

AAA, the road club, said it expected a record 87 percent of this year's Thanksgiving travel on the Mainland to be by automobile.

Back in Honolulu, even the lei sellers said business was slower than usual.

"It was busier on Monday," said Shirley Gabat, who works at Dorothy's Lei Stand.

"It was supposed to be busy. What happened?"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.