Jetliners returned to the nation's skies Thursday for the first time in two days, carrying nervous passengers who faced strict new security measures following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
There was tension and confusion as the aviation industry lurched back into service.
The New York area's three major airports _ Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, New Jersey _ were opened and then shut down as FBI officials sought a ``small number'' of individuals for questioning in the attacks and were feared to be fleeing the city. One law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said three men were apprehended at Kennedy but other details were not released.
Earlier, a terminal at LaGuardia and Orlando International Airport were briefly evacuated over separate, unfounded bomb scares.
Elsewhere, no planes had left Chicago's busy O'Hare International Airport by late afternoon and Boston's Logan International Airport still had not met the Federal Aviation Administration's security requirements as of 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT).
But for the first time since Tuesday, travelers had the option of flying in the United States _ even if the service was limited to a handful of flights.
At Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Sam Hemphill was among a dozen people lined up at a TWA ticket counter. He said he was uneasy about flying but wanted to get home to Jacksonville, Florida.
``Whatever happens, happens,'' Hemphill said. ``You have to keep going. If you stop living life, they've won.''
The airlines were grounded Tuesday after jets hijacked in Boston, Newark and Washington's Dulles airport were crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta cleared the way for commercial flights to resume Thursday, saying airports would be opened and flights resumed on a case-by-case basis _ but only after the new security measures are in place. Private flights are still banned.
Under the tightest airport security since the Gulf War in 1991, there will be no more curbside check-ins or visits to terminal gates to meet passengers.
Knives and other cutting tools, even plastic ones, are prohibited. Mail and cargo are temporarily banned from passenger flights.
Federal marshals were on hand at many airports.
``People in this country have a hang-up about having their personal space invaded, but when you're in this situation you have to sacrifice some of your individuality,'' said Kevin McArthur, a business consultant waiting at Denver International Airport for a flight to Chicago.
The disasters were on the minds of even the most experienced travelers. Northwest Airlines employees were urged by union officials to wear black ribbons on their uniform lapels.
Some of the first flights over U.S. airspace Thursday were jets that had been diverted to Canada when the terrorists struck.
Among them was Alitalia Flight 624, which left Calgary, Alberta, for San Francisco but was forced to turn around by military jets whose pilots apparently believed American air space was off-limits to international flights. After clarification from the FAA, the flight _ which originated in Milan on Tuesday _ landed in San Francisco two hours later than expected and 48 hours late overall.
Another Alitalia flight left Calgary and landed in Los Angeles.
The San Diego airport was largely deserted, with a few business and vacation travelers waiting for a spot on a handful of flights expected to leave late Thursday. Skycaps and other airport employees, standing around in small groups talking, outnumbered passengers.
Travelers ran into long lines at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest.
Precise figures on the number of airports that reopened Thursday and the number of aircraft flying were unavailable, but FAA spokesman Bill Shumann said traffic was clearly a fraction of what it would be under normal circumstances.
Agents from the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs were deployed at airport security check points across the country.
``We have taken every precaution to make sure it is safe to fly in America,'' President George W. Bush said Thursday. ``There are beefed-up security in our airports, there's increased presence on the airplanes. Yes, if a family member asked if they should fly, I would say, 'Yes.'''
However, major airlines warned that it would take days to return to normal service. Delta, American and TWA offered a limited schedule Thursday, and United put off scheduled service until Friday morning.
Continental canceled all regularly scheduled flights for the day.
At the Denver airport, Jay Jardim and his wife, Kim, hoped to get a flight to the New York area because Jardim's older brother was missing in the trade center attack.
Jardim's brother was on the 106th floor when the jet hit his tower. Jardim said his brother sent a quick text message but hasn't been heard from since.
``We're just hoping for some sort of priority list for not just us but all of the families of the victims,'' Jardim said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2