Security tightened at Bradley in wake of terror threats

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. --Airline passengers at Bradley International Airport were forced to give up lotion, lipstick, drink bottles and other items Thursday because of tightened security prompted by the terror plot arrests in Britain.

Judy DellaRipa, 58, of East Hartford, had to part with her sunscreen, deodorant and toothpaste before taking a Delta flight to Houston. She said she wasn't aware of the extra security measures before leaving her home.

"It's irritating. I just bought things to take on the trip, and now you have to throw them out," she said. "There's nothing you can do about it. I guess safety-wise it's probably good. I just think they should have told you ahead of time."

There was a lot of grousing and a lot of waiting in the nation's airports Thursday as passengers made a rough adjustment to a U.S. ban on liquids and gels, prompted by the announcement that a foiled terror plot would have used explosives disguised as such harmless items. British authorities arrested 24 people they allege were plotting to bomb several U.S.-bound planes.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered additional troopers and bomb dogs to provide security at Bradley. She also put the Connecticut National Guard on standby.

Bradley does not have direct flights to and from Europe, but it is a backup for Logan International Airport in Boston and Kennedy International in New York. Rell said she will deploy National Guard soldiers if the airport is needed as a backup. Additional police officers were also sent to Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport.

"I think the important message is that we cannot let down our guard. We have to be ever-vigilant in our day-to-day operations," Rell said at a news conference at the airport Thursday. "It is very safe to travel. You will probably have some inconvenience today. The inconvenience was a lot worse this morning."

David Ishihara, the federal security director for the Transportation Security Administration at Bradley, said troopers were assigned to patrol the airport's security checkpoints Thursday for the first time since immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Just trust that there are layers of security at work," Ishihara said. "Most of it you can't see, but they're there."

Lines backed up at metal detectors early in the morning but had dissipated by lunchtime, and travelers found ways to cope with the inconvenience. Security officials provided big plastic buckets at checkpoints and travelers filled them with bottled water, juices, lotions and other banned items.

One woman handed over her deodorant, perfume and hand lotion to a friend who brought her to the airport. Another dumped her bottles of juice and water into one of the many garbage cans around the security check area.

To cope with the new ban, 53-year-old businessman Larry Wagner said he mailed his toiletries back home to Atlanta, an hour before arriving at Bradley.

"It makes traveling a hassle but I understand the need for it," he said. "And I feel better because of it."

Brenna Wallhausser, 33, of Danville, Va., was headed home with her husband, Karl, 35, her 2-year-old son, John, and 6-year-old daughter, Hannah, after vacationing in the Berkshires.

They had to throw out a bottle of milk they had intended to give John on the plane and check some luggage they had planned to carry on because it had bottles of lotion, tubes of toothpaste and other liquid toiletries. But they took it in stride.

"It made for a hectic morning, but we're relieved," Brenna said, adding that she didn't mind the security measures. "If they're necessary, they're fine. We can be patient."

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Transportation Security Administration: http://www.tsa.gov