Top News

Minneapolis (AP) ― Jeri Gaffrey was a little ticked off Thursday morning as she chucked $60 worth of lipstick into a big gray tub carried by a security screener at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

"The next national security threat -- mirrored mauve," said Gaffrey, of Minneapolis, jotting down the color of each tube so she can replace it when she arrives in St. Louis.

Gaffrey and her fellow travelers arrived at the airport to long lines and security screeners loudly announcing all the liquid and gel products that can no longer be allowed on planes.

It was part of the stepped up security on all domestic and international flights in the nation after a major terror plot was foiled in London. The Bush administration said the scheme was "suggestive of an al-Qaida plot."

The ripples from the London arrests hit the local airport early as travelers arrived without hearing the news of the heightened terror warning, and the new baggage restrictions.

"At 5 a.m. we were so backed up," said Amanda Volz, a screener for the Transportation Security Administration. "People whose planes were leaving in 10 minutes were a mile down the line."

Under new rules from the TSA, passengers were prohibited from having any liquids, gels, lotions or similar items in their carry-on luggage. That included items such as beverages, hairspray, toothpaste, shampoo and eye drops.

"When you travel a lot, you have to learn to be adaptable, but it seems like every few months now there's a new restriction," said Sheila Grossinger, a frequent traveler from Burnsville. "I'm waiting for the day when they say there's no carry on luggage whatsoever. That doesn't even seem so unlikely anymore."

Pat Hogan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, said vehicles entering the airport were subject to random inspections, and travelers may see a more visible security presence, including armed guards and police dogs.

Even as their tubs filled with bottles and tubes, screeners warned travelers to be prepared for searches that were more extensive than usual. "Everyone's going to have to take their shoes off," Volz repeated as new passengers joined her line.

Northwest Airlines, the dominant carrier at the Twin Cities airport, was suggesting that passengers forgo carry-on items altogether and check all their luggage, to minimize check-in time. The airline also advised its passengers to arrive two hours before domestic flights and three hours before flights to international destinations.

Starting at 4 a.m. Friday, authorities plan to start a second level of screening at the gates. Gov. Tim Pawlenty offered to activate members of the Minnesota National Guard to help, but was told Thursday evening that the Guard wouldn't be needed to help the TSA and law enforcement with the additional screening.

Northwest was scrambling to publicize the tighter security rules before passengers left home for the airport Thursday. By midmorning, many Twin Cities travelers were aware of the restrictions before they got to the airport, though some were surprised to find it covered not just liquid but also gels and makeup.

"We're doing everything we can to reach out to our customers and make them aware of this new TSA requirement," spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said.

Kari Howard of St. Paul was traveling to Washington, D.C., early Thursday and was surprised by the wait. "This is the longest that I have ever had to wait in a check-in line," she said.

She applied a big gob of now-banned Chapstick before dropping her tube of it into one of the tubs. "I hope it's not too much," she said. "I'm addicted to this stuff."

After Kristin Reinke of Champlin, a Minneapolis suburb, dumped her own bottle into a tub she complained to her husband, Mike Reinke, "I just threw out $34 worth of hand lotion."

He was sympathetic, but accepted the TSA's reasons. "What are you going to do? I guess you have to be safe."

That's an attitude that Volz said she hoped most travelers would take Thursday.

"There's some moaning and groaning, and a few people who get angry, but once you explain it to them, they are more lenient about giving it up. You just try to make them understand that it's for their safety."

In London, new security measures caused heavy disruptions at Heathrow airport. But Northwest's flights to London use Gatwick airport, and it has one daily flight each way to Gatwick from Minneapolis and Detroit, Ebenhoch said.

Airline consultant Robert Mann said Northwest's small presence in London may limit the impact of fearful travelers canceling flights. Mann also pointed out that much of August travel was sold on nonrefundable tickets -- so many travelers will have to pay for their tickets even if they decide not to fly.

Longer term, he said the main danger to the airline industry, if there is one, would come from U.S. airlines banning nearly all carry-on items as the British did on Thursday. Business travelers, especially, prize their laptops and a carry-on ban might prompt them to look for alternatives to traveling, he said.

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)