Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Matt Bisenius
Aired November 30, 2003 - 07:07 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: So you thought getting away for Thanksgiving was difficult? Well, getting back home on one of the busiest travel days of the year might even be harder. Here with information that could make your trip a big smoother is our Patty Davis, who is standing by live at Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.
How's it shaping up out there?
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pretty good so far, Catherine. And to smooth your way at the airport today, the Transportation Security Administration is recommending be prepared.
And do some common sense things that you always do when you go through airport security. Have your coat off. Have your cell phone out, your keys, things like that. Maybe you want to have your shoes off if they have metal in them, getting ready to go through security.
Above all, though, get here early today. It is going to be busy. Lines are already starting to build here at Reagan National Airport. 106,000 people expected here between here and Washington Dulles Airport nearly today.
It's a little bit less than Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Now we're joined by Matt Bisenius, one of those travelers. Now you're a Florida State University student. Did you hear about the dire predictions of mass chaos at the airport?
MATT BISENIUS, STUDENT TRAVELER: I did.
DAVIS: And what have you done to smooth your way?
BISENIUS: I just had all my stuff ready to go. That's security. And I did the E-check in when I checked in, to try and beat some of the lines.
DAVIS: Now where are you headed today, Matt?
BISENIUS: I'm headed to Orlando, actually, to go back to school.
DAVIS: And you came up, what, Thanksgiving? You said Thanksgiving Day?
BISENIUS: Thanksgiving morning.
DAVIS: And what did you find in terms of your travel at that point?
BISENIUS: I think I kind of beat the crowds Thanksgiving morning, because by the time I went in there, there were pretty big lines here at Reagan. But when I checked into Orlando, didn't seem to be too bad.
DAVIS: All right. All right, one smart traveler here. Matt Bisenius of Florida State University, heading back to Orlando. And he has prepared it. That's another one of those things, tried to use those kiosks because those are much faster.
Now there were dire predictions, even by the Transportation Security Administration about how rough it was going to be at the nation's airports. That is because there were 6,000 screener positions cut in September at the end of that fiscal year. But what the TSA has done is they've canceled all vacations for those screeners right now. They've added people, part-timers to come to fill in during the holidays.
And the weather certainly has cooperated. That is for sure. I know here, we're hoping that'll continue today. They had yesterday wind gusts of 47 miles an hour at this airport, but it didn't cause any delays. And things -- the wind at least has died down -- Catherine?
CALLAWAY: Yes, let's hope no more delays and no delays at all this holiday. Thank you very much, Patty.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 30, 2003 - 07:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: So you thought getting away for Thanksgiving was difficult? Well, getting back home on one of the busiest travel days of the year might even be harder. Here with information that could make your trip a big smoother is our Patty Davis, who is standing by live at Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.
How's it shaping up out there?
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pretty good so far, Catherine. And to smooth your way at the airport today, the Transportation Security Administration is recommending be prepared.
And do some common sense things that you always do when you go through airport security. Have your coat off. Have your cell phone out, your keys, things like that. Maybe you want to have your shoes off if they have metal in them, getting ready to go through security.
Above all, though, get here early today. It is going to be busy. Lines are already starting to build here at Reagan National Airport. 106,000 people expected here between here and Washington Dulles Airport nearly today.
It's a little bit less than Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Now we're joined by Matt Bisenius, one of those travelers. Now you're a Florida State University student. Did you hear about the dire predictions of mass chaos at the airport?
MATT BISENIUS, STUDENT TRAVELER: I did.
DAVIS: And what have you done to smooth your way?
BISENIUS: I just had all my stuff ready to go. That's security. And I did the E-check in when I checked in, to try and beat some of the lines.
DAVIS: Now where are you headed today, Matt?
BISENIUS: I'm headed to Orlando, actually, to go back to school.
DAVIS: And you came up, what, Thanksgiving? You said Thanksgiving Day?
BISENIUS: Thanksgiving morning.
DAVIS: And what did you find in terms of your travel at that point?
BISENIUS: I think I kind of beat the crowds Thanksgiving morning, because by the time I went in there, there were pretty big lines here at Reagan. But when I checked into Orlando, didn't seem to be too bad.
DAVIS: All right. All right, one smart traveler here. Matt Bisenius of Florida State University, heading back to Orlando. And he has prepared it. That's another one of those things, tried to use those kiosks because those are much faster.
Now there were dire predictions, even by the Transportation Security Administration about how rough it was going to be at the nation's airports. That is because there were 6,000 screener positions cut in September at the end of that fiscal year. But what the TSA has done is they've canceled all vacations for those screeners right now. They've added people, part-timers to come to fill in during the holidays.
And the weather certainly has cooperated. That is for sure. I know here, we're hoping that'll continue today. They had yesterday wind gusts of 47 miles an hour at this airport, but it didn't cause any delays. And things -- the wind at least has died down -- Catherine?
CALLAWAY: Yes, let's hope no more delays and no delays at all this holiday. Thank you very much, Patty.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
