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American Morning

Thanksgiving Travel Rush On

Aired November 21, 2001 - 08:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of Americans are getting ready to catch planes and hop in their cars or board their trains and buses for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Time now to take the travel pulse and Stephanie Oswald is here to do that. She's at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport and Liz Weiss is with us once again from an Amtrak station not far from Boston.

Hello to all.

Let's start with you, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE OSWALD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

That's right, life at the airport is different these days, and you don't see any crowds behind me, because of security restrictions. But inside, the lines are very long. Security lines in particular are very long, and people say they've been here two even three hours before their flight, and they're there, and they're waiting.

So as the day goes on, it's probably going to get a lot worse, and the advice we have for people who haven't flown lately, especially since September 11, is to get to the airport early.

And even getting there early, that's not the only thing you need to think about. You also need to think about what you're bringing with you. Carry-ons are limited to one bag and one personal item, and think about what you're putting in that carry-on. Think about leaving aerosol cans and sharp items at home. And also if you're carrying anything on such as a gift, don't wrap your gifts before you get to the airport. Wrap them when you get to your destination. And if you're carrying anything that's fragile or heavy, remember that it's restricted out on the concourse, so you're the only one who's going to be able to get out on the concourse, because you're the ticketed passenger. You won't be able to have any help.

So you need to think about that, and also, you might want to bring along some food and some entertainment. Bring an extra book or a magazine or a game for the kids, because right now this is a time they're going to have to have some patience and think about the airport as a little bit different this Thanksgiving.

I think we're headed up north now to Liz Weiss, who's at an Amtrak station outside Boston -- Liz.

LIZ WEISS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Stephanie, Leon, things are a lot different at this Amtrak station just outside of Boston. It is quiet here, as you can see; there are very few people waiting. Actually, these folks are waiting for the next train to roll in. If we turn over here in a moment and look at the ticketing area, you can see that there's only one person on line buying a ticket.

Basically, this year, Amtrak is expecting an increase in demand. Last year they carried half a million over the Thanksgiving holiday week -- that was Wednesday to Sunday. This year they're expecting an increase; they've added 75,000 seats nationwide.

In between the Boston-Washington route, I can tell you, you've got to purchase your ticket ahead of time. You can't just board the train and expect to buy your ticket on the train. You can buy your tickets online. You can wait here at the ticket counter to purchase your ticket. They will be checking photo IDs when you pick up your ticket, and randomly, they'll be checking your photo IDs up and down in the train as well.

Security, as I said, with photo IDs is something that's been implemented recently. Police presence on the high-speed or express train between New York and Washington and Boston and Washington -- there will be armed police officers on the trains. Also on the platforms -- nationwide, you'll see police presence dealing with folks, making sure that the traffic is getting through smoothly.

Just to wrap it up, I'll tell you I talked to passengers this morning, why are people taking the train. There's no hassle. It's easy. You only have to get there half an hour before the train departs -- Leon.

HARRIS: Liz, we can see there's no hassle now because there's no crowd. It might change ...

WEISS: That's right -- and it may pick up later, though.

HARRIS: That's right.

WEISS: I'm sure it will.

HARRIS: That's right. But we'll leave you there to check it out for us.

Liz Weiss, thanks very much.

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