Homeland security officials say they remain concerned about the possibility of terrorist attacks during the busy holiday season – including attacks involving airplanes – and they are urging all security officers and travelers to be vigilant.
But despite projections that more than 8 million people will fly over the two-week Christmas-New Year’s holidays, officials say they don’t expect long lines at airport checkpoints. As they did over Thanksgiving, Transportation Security Administration officials are requiring all airport security workers to cancel vacations and work overtime to accommodate the rush. The stepped-up schedule begins Dec. 22 and ends Jan. 4. “This is an all-hands-on-deck kind of thing,” TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield said. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, which includes two of the busiest travel days of the year, most fliers waited in airport checkpoint lines no longer than 15 minutes. Officials are asking travelers to help once again by arriving early for flights, leaving prohibited items such as guns and knives at home and wearing clothes that won’t set off metal detectors. Full Story
