Long lines, missed flights at Sea-Tac Airport

Passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport missed their flights today as they waited in hours-long lines at beefed-up security checkpoints following a terrorism plot that was thwarted in London.

By late afternoon, few people waited in line at airport security checkpoints. But earlier in the day, some passengers waited more than two hours to get through airport security, and at least one line was backed up into the airport-parking garage, wrapping around several times.

"A significant number of people are missing flights," airport spokesman Bob Parker said. "I'm hearing planes with 100 seats are going out with 30 seats full on them."

Workers carried tall wooden signs with a piece of paper stapled on top with the words, "end of line." As passengers streamed into the airport, the sign holders kept moving back.

Parker said the lines are long because every piece of carry-on luggage is being inspected and all liquids and gels — including drinks, shampoos and lotions — are being removed.

All of the airport's 29 security checkpoints are open, said airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt.

Airport officials had been telling travelers to go home if they missed their flights. But now, Parker said, passengers should stay in line and rebook via cell phone. He said passengers should not try to return to the ticket counter to rebook their flights.

"If you do get through security and missed your flight there's probably a missing seat on the next flight that the guy behind you didn't take," he said.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners from several airports, including Seattle's, say they are being told all vacation and days off are cancelled for the foreseeable future, as they deal with heightened screening following the foiled terror plot in London.

"It was a full house this morning when I came in," one Seattle screener said. "From top to bottom, everyone was running."

Still, he said, "The lines are still going to be what they're going to be." Crowds are so bad, an asbestos-removal worker and a painter working at Sea-Tac were instead helping passengers navigate the airport.

At several U.S. airports, guards with rifles stood watch, and the governors of California, New York and Massachusetts sent National Guard troops to bolster security.

Washington Gov. Christine Gregiore said the Washington National Guard and the Washington State Patrol are available if needed at Sea-Tac to help with security. TSA officials, however, have not requested assistance, she said.

Mike Milne spokesman for Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection divisions, said his agency has pulled in agents from across the state to work at Sea-Tac today so all international flights can be scrutinized.

The single airplane due in from Great Britain tonight, will be scoured by bomb sniffing dogs and machinery designed to locate explosives, Milne said. Also, the departing passengers' bags will be X-rayed and hand searched, he said.

Increased security screening also delayed the ferry sailing from Sidney, British Columbia, to Anacortes by at least 2½ hours, the Washington State Ferries said.

At Sea-Tac, Vicki Hatch-Moen, her husband and their two children were near the back of a checkpoint line at 9:45 a.m. this morning that snaked across the skybridge and into the parking garage. They expected to miss their scheduled 10 a.m. flight to San Diego.

"Everyone's on their cellphone calling everyone else and saying, 'Oh, my god, it's five hours!'(" Hatch-Moen said of the rumored wait time.

"People are standing here, they're reading their stuff, they look pretty calm," she said. "A lot of personnel are directing people into the line. It's well-organized. People are very calm and smiling."

Leslie Zibell, a teacher from Noorvik, Alaska, was heading home from a family vacation at Disneyland with her three children. She had been waiting almost two hours in line and was near the security checkpoint.

"We were in Disneyland last week and no line compared to this one," Zibell said.

August is the busiest time of year at the airport. About 500 flights carrying 51,000 people are expected to leave Sea-Tac today, said Rachel Garson, an airport spokeswoman.

The U.S. has raised its threat alert to its highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States amid fears the terrorist plot had not been completely crushed. The alert for all flights coming or going from the United States was also raised slightly.

TSA employees at Sea-Tac are sifting through luggage in search of liquids, lotions and gels — which were banned beginning at 4 a.m. today from all carry-on luggage, Betancourt said.

The list of banned substances also includes all drinks, toothpaste, perfume, shampoo, hair gel, suntan lotion, cosmetics and similar items. Even drinks purchased in the airport cannot be carried onto flights.

Baby formula and medications will be allowed but must be inspected at security checkpoints.

"There's a lot of makeup going into the garbage today," airport spokesman Parker said.

Betancourt said passengers lining up for departing flights weren't aware of the new restrictions and some were debating with TSA staff over whether to pack the banned items in their checked luggage or simply throw them out.

Cellphones and iPods are still allowed on board, Betancourt said.

Passengers are being asked to arrive at airports across the U.S. at least two hours early because of the new restrictions. On a normal summer day, passengers traveling through Sea-Tac could expect to wait in line about 20 minutes at security checkpoints, airport spokeswoman Betancourt said.

Parker said, however, passengers shouldn't show up any earlier than two hours. "We learned after 9-11 that our airport can't hold a three-hour-long line," he said. To help passengers cope, the airport has added emergency-medical workers and are adjusting the temperature at the airport.

"These are some of the worst lines we've seen at the airport," Betancourt said. "If people miss their flights, they should go home. The airlines absolutely can't do rebooking in the terminal today."

Airport officials are advising people seeking to cancel flights to contact the airlines directly.

"People are surprisingly calm," Betancourt said. "I think they know what's going on and people are doing what they can to get people through."

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com