Security concerns spark BWI's evolution

Flying: Procedural changes and a $1.8 billion expansion are leading to a big transformation at the area's largest airport.

By Rona Kobell | Sun Staff

June 22, 2003

Baltimore-Washington International Airport does not look the same as it did two years ago -- and it will look even more different two years from now.

Security changes have transformed the airport's interior, which now has theme park-like lines, flat-screen televisions displaying instructions and SUV-size explosive-detection machines on its floor. The machines screen BWI's checked luggage, while trained federal security officers check carry-on bags and, from time to time, search passengers.

On the outside, construction crews are working on a $1.8 billion expansion that will include new gates, wider roads and more restaurants and shops for the fast-growing airport, which serves about 50,000 passengers daily. There are cranes in the air, signaling new parking garages, and cones on the road indicating places that are off-limits.

BWI is expected to finish the revamping in 2006. The state-run airport is working piecemeal on the terminal so it can run smoothly during construction, said former airport spokesman John White.

"When people hear an airport is under construction, they have some anxiety. But I think when you come, you'll see it's not in your way," White said. "We're trying to keep construction in a manageable way so it doesn't impede everyone."

Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Washington-area frequent fliers knew BWI as a budget hub, an airport well worth the drive to save a few hundred dollars on fares.

BWI is still a bargain traveler's paradise, but it has also become more.

The airport became the first in the nation last year to have a fully federalized security force. The newly created Transportation Security Agency used BWI as a model airport to test its new equipment and strategies for screening all passengers.

Last year, passengers found themselves in long lines that snaked past the Burger King and Starbuck's coffee shop outlets, offering a chance to hop out of line and order. Thanks to BWI and the TSA, the lines are largely gone. Now, travelers rarely wait more than 15 minutes.

The airlines also have made changes to ease the new burden on travelers. Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at BWI, is among the airlines that allow passengers to download their boarding passes from the Internet so they can go straight to the gate and bypass ticket lines. Most other airlines at BWI are moving in the same direction, and eight airlines at BWI also have electronic kiosks at the airport that let passengers get their boarding passes with the swipe of a credit card.

BWI always drew travelers from Washington and Northern Virginia with its low fares, but many more Washingtonians used the airport in the months after the terrorist attacks because Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was closed.

Although that airport reopened last year, some of those passengers have continued to frequent BWI. The airport is studying the numbers to determine how many more Reagan National passengers it has picked up.

According to a study done before Sept. 11, 2001, about 44 percent of BWI's travelers were from the Washington area, 38 percent were from Baltimore, and the remaining 18 percent were from a wide region that included New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

BWI has one of the busiest rail stations in the Northeast, making it easy for passengers from Philadelphia and Richmond to ride Amtrak and then take a short bus ride to the terminal. A new bus service from the Greenbelt Metro station to BWI runs seven days a week and takes about 20 minutes.

BWI suffered a setback in the fall when US Airways canceled its low-fare MetroJet service, ending 46 daily flights to Florida, Chicago and other popular destinations. One of its much-promoted international carriers, Ireland's Aer Lingus, also left the airport.

But AirTran Airways, another low-cost carrier, stepped in to fill MetroJet's breach. Southwest, which has 144 flights a day out of BWI, also picked up some routes, including a new daily nonstop to Los Angeles.

And Aer Lingus, which left because of financial difficulties, returned when the war with Iraq was at its height. In addition to five flights a week, it offered bargain-basement packages to the Emerald Isle.

"It makes a statement that they think this is the place to be for long-term success," White said.

In the past five years, the amenities around the airport have made the entire area an attraction. BWI is just a few minutes' drive from Arundel Mills, the county's mega-mall, with hundreds of restaurants and outlet shops. Major business development continues in the office parks around the airport, home to various state offices and defense contractor Northrop Grumman. And the airport is one of the few in the country to boast a hike-bike trail and a park where residents like to watch the planes land.

BWI faces a challenge in the next few years: how to remain a good neighbor in an increasingly dangerous world. The airport has to remain open to the community, but not so open as to compromise security. "The community has basically grown up around the airport," White said. "There's no way to not affect the community, so we have to be involved."