DALLAS -- Dallas/Fort Worth Airport reports a "steady operational
recovery" following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
And with the approaching holiday travel period, it is taking a
cautiously optimistic stance for sustained growth.
According to airport officials, Dallas/Fort Worth, along with
its business partners in the airlines and concessions areas, worked
together to bring the airport back.
The airport has added more than $5 million to its budget for
enhanced security measures, officials said.
Areas of increased spending include additional law enforcement
officers at airport entrance gates and aircraft parking areas and
funds for criminal history background checks of airport
personnel.
To further support its recovery assessments, the airport is
tracking key daily business trends.
According to airport officials:
• One week after the attacks, passenger volume was down 50% from
last year's levels.
• The following Monday, volume was down by 34%.
• By Oct. 1, traffic was behind last year's totals by 28%.
• As of mid-October, with air strikes continuing in Afghanistan,
traffic was 14% behind 2000 levels.
Airlines continue to announce service restorations and
additions, including flights on Frontier to Denver, AirTran to
Atlanta and American and Delta to cities in their networks.
Dallas/Fort Worth averaged about 2,300 takeoffs and landings per
day last year. Those numbers are now steady at nearly 1,950 per
day, or 85% of normal operations, according to airport
officials.
The officials noted that they expect this number to rise to
nearly 2,100 operations per day, or 91% of normal operations, by
first-quarter 2002.
Airport officials implemented a $10 million administrative
budget reduction immediately following the attacks.
In early October, they announced another $15 million in
reductions in the areas of business development initiatives,
computer systems and other professional services contracts.
No layoffs are part of the plan at this time, the officials
said.
"We're extremely mindful of what's going on in the U.S. economy
and in the airline industry, and our fiscally conservative approach
to growth now serves us well in this recovery period," said Jeff
Fegan, chief executive officer of DFW.
"The [budget] cuts will have minimal impact on the comfort or
convenience of the traveling public, and, in fact, travelers will
see even greater security than in the days since Sept. 11."
Airport enhances security beyond federal
mandates
DALLAS -- Dallas/Fort Worth Airport is proceeding in advance of
Federal Aviation Administration security mandates by taking the
following actions:
• Closing more than 150 security doors available to terminal and
airline employees. Several of those doors have since reopened, but
employees now encounter armed officers and must pass security
screening procedures before entering secure areas.
• Closing the terminal/airline employee-only train.
• Moving electronic badge-scanning equipment to the 17 security
checkpoints in all four terminals to ensure all badged employees
have current credentials.
• Stationing law enforcement officers at all roadway entrances
to aircraft parking and service areas.
• Patrolling all terminal parking areas with K-9 units.
The airport also has completed the revalidation of all 36,500
security badges in use and completed criminal history checks on
more than 4,000 airline and airport personnel.
Further, the airport is seeking approval from the FAA to conduct
retroactive criminal history background checks on security-badge
holders who received credentials prior to December 2000. That
action is not mandated by the FAA.