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American Morning

AAA Reports People Want More Air Security Despite Delays

Aired August 29, 2002 - 08:13   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: American travelers want more air security and they want it now. A new survey suggests that travelers are very confident in the new air safety measures despite the delays, and perhaps most telling, they say they are willing to pay for it.
Kathleen Koch is at Washington's National Airport with more.

Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, first we have some breaking news. It was just last week that CNN reported that the Federal Aviation Administration was considering restricting flights over New York and D.C. on 9/11. Well now today we've got the specific details. They're considering banning international flights, flights of small private aircraft and then also some chartered planes over New York, over Washington, D.C. and over Somerset County, Pennsylvania on primarily 9/11. And (ph) New York the restrictions will go into the 12th and 13th. But this would ban these flights, anyone to fly below 18,000 feet and for a 30-mile radius, that would be 60 miles total, around these cities.

And as you pointed out that all this comes as new breaking news about these measures as Americans are saying that they are increasingly confident in the new security measures that have already been put in place since 9/11. In a survey of 1,022 adults that was done for the American Automobile Association, they found that 75 percent of those who were quizzed were extremely confident, very confident or somewhat confident that flying is now safe. Now that compares to just 33 percent who felt that way just a month after 9/11.

The survey also talked to people about that very hotly debated topic of guns in the cockpit. And surprisingly, they found that some 51 percent of Americans said that giving pilots in the cockpit guns would make them feel safer, only 14 percent said that it would make them feel less confident and 32 percent said well, it really would have no impact on them.

Those surveyed, though, overwhelmingly rejected any delay in installing those new, very large explosive detection screening machines in the nation's airports. It was just last week that airports wrote to the U.S. Senate and said there is no way we can meet this deadline. But a full 81 percent of the passengers said, no, install those machines as scheduled by the end of the year, even if it means delays.

And also another surprising point, people said they are willing to pay more, Daryn, for all this new security with 87 percent saying they'd be willing to pay somewhat more, 50 percent saying they would be willing to pay $10 or more per round trip ticket. So quit a commitment there, Daryn, to security.

Back to you.

KAGAN: All right. Kathleen Koch at Reagan National, thank you so much.

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