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One year later, St. Cloud airport more secure
 Media Credit: Jason Risberg
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 Media Credit: Jason Risberg St. Cloud Regional Airport security worker Rob Ackeman watches the computer screen while Clint Hoiseth puts his shoes through the x-ray scanner on Monday.
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St. Cloud Regional Airport's airline terminal was eerily quiet Wednesday.
On the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., all arriving and departing flights were cancelled-again.
This year, however, the reason was vastly different. Construction on a new runway at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport closed one of the normally active runways at the airport, causing airlines to cancel a large number of flights to and from the airport.
Tony Rogowski, Mesaba Airlines/Northwest Airlink station manager at the St. Cloud airport, said that light passenger loads, not significance of the day, lead to the cancellations.
"They've decided to do the intersecting work, where the two runways meet," Rogowski said. "So they've closed the runway, therefore they're cutting back on the traffic, which means we get hit with a lot of cancellations. It's just kind of a coincidental occurrence."
The cancellations were a spontaneous, last minute decision, he said. Tuesday and Wednesday flights were cancelled Monday evening. Passengers who could not drive themselves to the Minneapolis airport were bussed there. Mesaba's schedule was set to return to the normal five daily flights on Thursday.
Changes
Sept. 11 marked the passing of a year that has brought changes in security procedures at the St. Cloud airport. The most significant: passengers who fly out of St. Cloud now pass through security screening before boarding their flight.
In the past, passengers boarded the plane in St. Cloud without going through a security checkpoint. Security screening was conducted when they reached Minneapolis, before entering the airport. St. Cloud was scheduled to have screening by last June, but 9-11 put heavy priority on that goal.
"Since Sept. 11 happened last year, all they did was pretty much move that up to February, so we started operating our screening station here in February," Rogowski said.
St. Cloud's X-ray machine and walkthrough screener came from Minneapolis. It was part of the system that was formerly in place at the Minneapolis airport's regional terminal.
"It's the same equipment," he said. "Granted, they do have some better equipment on the checkpoints, because they have different computers and screens and whatnot, but it's pretty much the same thing."
"That's made traveling easier for the passengers, because once they (are screened) here, they get on the plane, they're done.
"No matter where they go, as long as they stay in the sterile area in the terminals, they're fine."
He added that random bag searches are continuing to be conducted, and police officers are still required to be present for the departure of all flights.
"That helps quite a bit," Rogowski said. "It's a requirement to have (officers) out here, but it also helps with the people traveling, it's a peace of mind thing."
Security changes elsewhere around the St. Cloud airport have been slower in coming.
One significant improvement is the continued addition of perimeter fence, according to airport maintenance supervisor Tom Heurung.
"We needed approximately eight miles to enclose the entire airport," Heurung said.
The fence is being added to in small sections, he said, which was already scheduled to happen before Sept. 11.
"The process has been accelerated quite a bit by security issues," he said.
The airport's main security issue, if it could be called that, is relatively unmonitored ramp access through the general aviation building. Currently almost anyone can enter the general aviation aircraft parking area by going through that building.
"This is an issue that we are not exactly sure how to approach," Heurung said. "Most of the security upgrades that we've done since 9-11 have been funded through various agencies in response to the increased security requirement. There is no funding, basically, for doing something with the general aviation terminal or their facility, so we have to work around those numbers to try to get a little more done.
"Security responsibilities over there are pretty much left up to the people that run the general aviation building."
Continued improvements
Despite some concerns over general aviation, airline security continues to be the focus of improvements at St. Cloud Regional Airport.
Rogowski said the Transportation Security Administration is scheduled to take over security duties in the airline terminal, which are currently performed by Mesaba employees.
"That's a plan," he added. "Whether it comes true or not, we'll wait and see. They also have a deadline of Dec. 31 to get the new trace machines in, to where all luggage will be screened. I don't know where that stands."
The trace machines Rogowski spoke of will scan checked bags before they are loaded on aircraft. A takeover by the TSA–federalizing security–is being considered, Heurung said, due to of the amount passengers who travel through St. Cloud.
"We're probably one of the candidate airports because of the numbers of people that go through here," he said.
Current policy
Rogowski said Mesaba asks passengers departing from St. Cloud to arrive one hour before the flight's departure. Mesaba policy is to shut down the check-in counter 20 minutes before departure.
"That's just because we do everything here," he said. "We check everybody in, we load the planes, unload them, do the security, so that's why we ask everybody to come early."
He also suggested that passengers double-check the contents of their carry-on bags before going to the airport. Items such as knives, scissors, manicure sets and shaving kits are not allowed in carry-on luggage, and will be confiscated as the passenger passes through security.
"Think about what you're carrying," he said. "Do some pre-planning before you leave, put all that in your checked bag.
"The main thing is, call the day before, or if leaving in the afternoon, call that morning, and just double-check on the flights. You never know what's going to come up."
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