On Saturday, sophomore Emily Good's sister got married in Valera, Venezuela. But Good wasn't among those in attendance - she was stranded in Medford, her evening flight to South America having been canceled after Logan Airport shut down.
"I began to worry on Tuesday, but still thought I'd make it one way or another. I woke up at 5 [a.m.] on Thursday to make a few desperate phone calls to airlines, then gave up," Good said.
Had Good been able to take a flight, she would have encountered new safety procedures and a greater security presence at Logan. Even with the airport's reopening, business has not proceeded as usual. Just 200 passengers boarded morning flights on Saturday, a mere fraction of the usual number of patrons. Those that showed up found themselves subject added safety measures, including a larger group of US marshals, armed state police, and border patrol officials. Once past security checkpoints, passengers were still subject to searches and requests for identification. Curbside check-in is no longer an option. And some airlines have replaced their metal cutlery with plastic, and passengers carrying items such as nail files, scissors, or pocketknives are not permitted to board. Police continuously search airport ramps, crawl spaces, and construction areas. All airlines at Logan have submitted letters to Massport, the director of Logan, guaranteeing they are complying with FAA regulations.
Despite the added procedures, travelers have generally put up with long waits and cancelled flights as airlines step up their safeguards in response to Tuesday's attacks.
"There will be some inconveniences, but safety will be the first element of our system to be restored," Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta said in a statement released by the White House earlier this week.
Good could sense the burden of added responsibilities on airport officials when she called to inquire about changing her flight reservation.
"They were helpful, but understandably busy. They're giving me a refund," she said.
Until late Thursday, Good's family still thought she might find her way home. "They had heard that the airports opened up on Thursday and figured I could get a flight out of another airport. They're very disappointed that I'm stuck here, since they made some special arrangements to enable me to come," she said.
Good is not the only student to have her weekend plans significantly altered. Sophomore Wendy Carman was set to travel to Las Vegas last Thursday to attend a conference for Cutco, a cutlery company she works for.
"First [the airline] said my flight had been cancelled, and then the airport was still closed," Carman said.
Travel plans were so disrupted by airport closings that the conference Carman feared she'd miss was eventually cancelled.
"Obviously I felt horrible about what happened in New York, but it really was frustrating to not be able to go to something I had been looking forward to since June," Carman said.
Some have sought different means of travel both due to a newfound fear of flying and a desire to avoid the chaos of reopened airports. Amtrak has stepped up to the challenge by expanding its services during the crisis.
Unlike the nation's airports, many of which remain eerily deserted, Amtrak has been flooded with travelers who do not want to fly in the wake of Tuesday's attacks. Ticket sales are approximately 50 percent greater than average for this time of the year. Long-distance trains have seen the greatest increase in ticket sales; most of them were sold out this past Wednesday and Thursday. In addition, Amtrak is accepting airline tickets as payment for similar-destination train tickets, according to the company's website.
The Greyhound Bus Company is also up and running, even in New York City's Port Authority station. Regular schedules have been restored, and according to one Greyhound employee there may be additional busses leaving from the Boston area. In the meantime, Greyhound is not accepting reservations and is requiring passengers to arrive at least one hour prior to their scheduled departure.
Regardless, the bus company has become inundated with desperate travelers. A call to the Boston Greyhound station yields an automated message: "Due to extreme call volumes, we are unable to transfer your call to a customer service representative."
Junior Diana Fischmann considered taking advantage of ground transportation in order to get to her home in Allentown, PA for Rosh Hashanah.
"I considered taking a train instead [of flying], but it would end up being a six-hour trip for me each way without even taking into account the time it would take for me to get to and from the station. Since I am missing so much class already, it really didn't make sense for such a trip," Fischmann said.
Fischmann was supposed to depart Logan for Philadelphia today in order to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with her family, but she is anxious about flying so soon after the terrorist attacks.
"I have always been a little nervous about flying, but after Tuesday's events I am much more nervous. It scares me how unprepared we were for this, and how it could potentially happen again anytime," Fischmann said.
Fischmann is just one of many travelers who chose to forgo seeing their families for the Jewish New Year. Logan saw a dramatic decline in the number of travelers this past weekend. By Saturday night, only a quarter of the typical number of flights had actually departed the airport. The planes that did leave were only filled to about 40 percent of capacity; pre-Rosh Hashanah planes are traditionally fully booked.
Cancelled travel plans do not mean trouble for passengers alone; this week the country's major airlines cut back service in order to avoid bankruptcy. American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and Continental Airlines all reduced their flying schedules by 20 percent in the aftermath of the attacks.
In a desperate measure to cut costs, Continental Airlines let 12,000 employees go this week. Some experts say that unless the government can assist in subsidizing airlines, some major carriers will go out of business entirely. Financial analysts report that since Tuesday, the airline industry has been losing hundreds of millions of dollars each day.
Tufts students differ with respect to how much Tuesday's events have impacted their thoughts about air travel. Sophomore Jamila Powell now feels a sadness and anxiety when considering whether or not she will fly.
"My dad lost his friend. It's really hard for me to contemplate going to airports now," Powell said. "Nothing is ever 100 percent secure."
Freshman Stefanie Croyle has always felt some anxiety about flying, but says those feelings were intensified by the terrorist attacks.
"I get nervous on planes anyway, and I fly a lot. Even though I know it'll be safer, just knowing what happened will make me nervous," Croyle said.
Sophomore Jessica Tubman is also wary of flying, especially this week.
"Being that we're preparing for war, it's not the best idea to put yourself in that situation if it's unnecessary," Tubman said.
Mental health experts say that the number of Americans who experience fear of flying is likely to grow based on second-hand reactions to the hijackings. Prior to last Tuesday, approximately one out of three Americans suffered from fear of flying, according to CNN. Some believe that increased security procedures will alleviate some anxiety and that relaxation exercises can also help.
Still, some students feel that with the new airport security regulations, flying is more secure than ever. Though some wonder why it took airlines this long to implement stringent safety procedures, they feel that flying remains the most efficient mode of transportation and one that they will continue to use.
"I think the statistics are still that flying is safer than driving," sophomore JR Urbon said. "But I can absolutely see why someone would be nervous; it's pretty scary what happened."
"I think it's safest now, when they're expecting the worst," sophomore Joe Ungerleider said.
The national chaos generated by last week's airport closings has as many personal implications as economic or logistical ones. Like Good, many Americans feel increasingly alone, separated from their families in time of need.
"I feel very far away from them... I'm very sad that I can't be with them," Good said.
