By Kate Reardon
Herald Writer
Frantic: That’s the word travel agent Kelly Hanika used to describe travelers on Wednesday.
"We’ve got people stuck all over," said Hanika, owner of Destinations Unlimited in Lynnwood. "We’re rebooking and rebooking again if it doesn’t work."
She had customers stranded in London, Hawaii, Chicago and Atlanta, among other places.
Travel problems were apparent in this state and throughout the nation Wednesday. Bleary-eyed passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were still waiting Wednesday night to learn if they would be allowed to continue flights grounded when all airspace was closed down after the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history.
Travelers around the country scrambled to rent cars, catch buses or find some other way to get where they needed to go. There were even people renting U-Haul or Ryder trucks with no cargo for long one-way journeys home.
But Hanika pointed out that airlines were not charging to reschedule through next week.
Diane Gallant, manager of First Travel and Cruise on Colby Avenue, said one of her customers had to cancel a honeymoon trip to Italy.
Stalled flights at airports were just part of the inconvenience that rippled through the state. Sea-Tac officials had hoped to resume flights at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The FAA pushed that time back to 11 a.m. before announcing the ban was further extended, with no immediate word on when it might be lifted.
At Paine Field, Snohomish County’s largest general aviation airport, officials anticipated they would be allowed to resume normal operations sometime today.
One advantage local airports have over Sea-Tac is they won’t be required to do thorough sweeps for bombs or other items because the airport doesn’t have regularly scheduled commercial flights.
If you’re taking a ferry, your vehicle is subject to search, but most operations are nearing normalcy, spokeswoman Susan Harris said.
The biggest problem is with the international route between Anacortes and Sidney, British Columbia. The Wednesday run was three hours late arriving at Anacortes because of intense immigration and customs inspections, just like at other U.S. borders. Harris suggested that people arrive two or three hours in advance of the scheduled sailing to make sure they get on board and the ferry sails on schedule.
At midday Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said airline flights diverted after Tuesday’s attacks could finish their journeys Wednesday, but all other planes would remain grounded. Only passengers on the original flights could reboard and only after new security measures were put in place. Airlines could also move empty airplanes.
As with other airports around the country, security was significantly increased at Sea-Tac. Police were stationed throughout the airport. Curbside luggage check-in was halted and unattended vehicles were immediately towed.
Hanika hoped to remind people that after Tuesday’s attack, "being stuck somewhere is not the worst problem in the world."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You can call Herald Writer Kate Reardon at 425-339-3455
or send e-mail to reardon@heraldnet.com.
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