LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OPERATIONS RETURNING TO NORMAL

(Los Angeles, California – August 10, 2006) Airline operations at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) were returning to normal late Thursday with only flights to European destinations experiencing significant delays.

The departure delays on flights to European destinations – particularly London’s Heathrow International Airport – were due to late arriving aircraft on Thursday following disclosure of a terror plot in the United Kingdom.

A survey of airlines Thursday showed passengers were checking baggage – rather than carrying it on airplanes – at a rate 30 to 50 percent above normal. This significant increase in the number of checked baggage resulted in fewer items for federal screeners to check at passenger security screening. This in turn resulted in near-normal wait times for passenger screening at the LAX terminals.

Airport maintenance workers, meanwhile, reported they were collecting fewer surrendered items and emptying trash bins at a much slower pace than early Thursday when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) banned carrying of liquids and gels on aircraft.

Airlines reported late Thursday that there was no perceptible decline in passenger traffic due to the elevation of the security threat level in the United States for the aviation sector.

Approximately 200 California National Guardmembers were expected to report to LAX early Friday to assist the TSA in performing secondary screening at aircraft boarding gates in the passenger terminals. The National Guardmembers will be unarmed and perform their duties under the control of the LAX Federal Security Director.

Additional security measures implemented Thursday by LAX Airport Police and other law enforcement agencies are expected to remain in effect while the U.S. threat level is at High, or Orange, for all commercial aviation operating in the U.S., including international flights.