Travelers urged to relax, be patient

BOB HOPE AIRPORT — While airports remained on "high danger" travel advisory on the eve of the busiest travel day of the year, travelers in Burbank were showing few signs of anxiety on Tuesday.

"My feeling is, give yourself plenty of time, relax and take a patience pill," Los Angeles resident Kevin DeRemer said. "Because whatever they're doing, it's worth it."

Commercial airline carriers were expecting the highest passenger numbers during the middle of the week, airport spokesman Victor Gill said.

"It's clear from advance bookings we will have heavier travel on Tuesday and Wednesday than we were seeing last week," he said. "But the caveat is that it's traditional heavy holiday traffic and the airlines did tell us that they're expecting it to be a little lighter than last year at the same time."

With a "high danger," or orange, travel advisory in effect since August, the Transportation Safety Administration has tightened restrictions on liquids in carry-on luggage, Gill said.

To prepare travelers for the pre-flight security screening, the security officials have implemented a "3-1-1" campaign, Gill said.

Passengers are allowed to carry-on liquids or gels in a container no larger than three ounces in a sealable, one-quart, transparent plastic bag. Each passenger is allowed one such bag, which must be placed in the security bin.

Some passengers saw the stricter standards as an inconvenience, but felt ultimately that the measures were necessary for safety reasons.

"I think, like any other time and situation, all the innocent suffer for the sake of a few," said Granada Hills resident Joyce Klein, who was traveling to Dallas on Tuesday. "But I don't think you can be too cautious — better safe than sorry."

Airport officials have also stepped up the numbers of traffic officers in front of the terminals to facilitate smoother passenger drop-offs and pick-ups, Gill said.

"One thing that is different this year … is that you will find traffic officers much more present in the streets in front of the terminal to keep the terminal roadway moving through," he said. "One of our biggest problems in terms of peak volumes is that we have very limited space and the visitor tends to try to grab the first piece of open cement that he sees rather than proceeding through the log jam where there's usually lots of open space ahead."

Travelers looking for more information on holiday travel guidelines can visit www.tsa.gov or www.bobhopeairport.com.