More than six years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, passengers at Logan International Airport finally seem to be getting the hang of the new security rules.
Transportation Security Administration officers seized 59.2 percent fewer knives, box cutters, explosives, and other dangerous items from carry-on bags at Logan than they did in 2006, and 64.1 percent fewer than in 2005, new agency figures show.
With the government lifting a ban on cigarette lighters in carry-on bags in August, the number of items seized at Logan checkpoints last year fell by more than half, to 237,796 items from 503,012 a year earlier, according to administration spokeswoman Ann Davis. The drop came even as passenger volume through Logan checkpoints increased 1.2 percent, to just under 16.5 million.
"We're always pleased to see the number of prohibited items seized at the checkpoints trend down, and we certainly hope that we'll see it continue to go down in 2008," Davis said. Many of the items the TSA seizes, Davis said, have been packed inadvertently by people who don't fly often.
"We continue to ask those folks who don't fly frequently to check the list at our tsa.gov website and make sure they know what they can and can't bring," she said.
Besides the ban on weapons, knives of any kind with blades over 4 inches, and tools over 7 inches long, airport security rules meant to thwart terrorists or hijackers from mixing bombs on board also restrict liquids and gels in carry-on bags to nothing bigger than 3 ounces. Passengers' liquid and gel containers must fit in a one-quart clear plastic bag.
Among items seized at Logan last year were a single gun - the first in three years, a fully loaded .38-caliber handgun a North Carolina businessman said he forgot was in his bag when he got on a Detroit-bound flight July 30 - and 29 pieces of fireworks, 384 box cutters, 897 knives or blades over 3 inches long, and 1,283 items deemed dangerous or deadly, which can include everything from large tools and sporting equipment to rocks.
The flow of contraband from Logan continues to supply a state-run surplus goods store in Concord, N.H., called the White Farm, where the state of New Hampshire resells pocket knives, tools, and other possible-weapon items seized from Logan and other New England airports.
Some frequent Logan passengers said they have seen signs that more people understand and are heeding the carry-on restrictions, and agreed the biggest problem is with infrequent air travelers.
"I have noticed that it seems to be a somewhat more fluid process to get through security over the last few months," said Neil Bergquist, a pharmaceutical industry consultant from Brighton who travels most weeks for business.
"I think most people - at least those who travel regularly - are getting more accustomed to putting their liquids in plastic bags and leaving their Swiss Army knives at home," he said.
Bergquist said he was struck by how much longer it took to get through security lines during the Christmas travel week when, for example, he was held up in line behind a woman who was trying to bring six large bottles of perfume as gifts, which TSA officers had to order her to remove from her carry-on.
Another regular business traveler, Carl Rubin, a partner at Monument Data Solutions, a Needham computer consulting firm, said he agrees that fewer travelers seem oblivious to the rules.
"There are signs all around and the TSA workers are constantly reminding people what to do," Rubin said.
