FAA KEEPS AIRPORTS CLOSED, PORTS OPERATE UNDER HEIGHTENED SECURITY

FAA KEEPS AIRPORTS CLOSED, PORTS OPERATE UNDER HEIGHTENED SECURITY    U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said late Wednesday that the nation's airports will remain closed until they can comply with required additional security measures.
   “I can't give a date or time as to when we will be back in operation,” Mineta said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “We're trying to make that determination based on safety and security of passengers and airline operations given the intelligence reports we are getting.”
   Mineta said he had hoped to reopen airport operations at noon yesterday, but security concerns raised by the FBI and intelligence agencies caused the additional delay.
   '”It was a security, not a logistical problem,” he said.
   The FAA will only permit flights “in special limited circumstances,” he said. That includes allowing the completion of those flights diverted Tuesday following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in western Pennsylvania. Only passengers on the original flights will be allowed to re-board the diverted planes and only after strict screening measures, he said.
   The measures Mineta outlines were directed at passenger safety and screening, as well as requiring a thorough search and security check of all airplanes and airports before passengers are allowed to enter and board aircraft. In addition, Mineta said vehicles near airport terminals will be monitored more closely.
'    On the ocean side, only the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey remained closed Wednesday, but all other U.S. ports had implemented heightened security procedures, working with the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal agencies, according to the American Association of Port Authorities.
   Of great concern throughout the industry is staff of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which was based in One World Trade Center.
   A port authority official said that the U.S. Coast Guard and port officials were to have met Wednesday afternoon to conduct a security risk assessment and input from local, state and federal agencies before deciding when to reopen the port's terminals.
   The nation's railroads reported normal operations and minimum delays, the DOT secretary said.