I live in DC, and I heard about this a few days on the radio, so things might have changed by now. The way I heard it, though, flights that were
inbound to DCA also had to have super-tightened security. They didn't talk about x-raying bags that I remember, but they might have. It seems I remember someone saying that there would be separate security checks, possibly at the gate so that connecting flight travellers would be subjected to them, just for travellers going to DC.
This definitely makes sense -- protect the inbound as much as the outbound. It was also explain why the process of opening up airports is so slow. If they're flying to only 11 or so separate airports, that's only an extra 11 airports that would have to implement the security so far.
[Editing to add a newspaper quote I found about this.]
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
With more politicians and reporters than regular passengers on its first flight, Reagan National Airport reopened Thursday, ending a three-week shutdown for the capital's most convenient airport.
National, which has a main approach route that takes planes near downtown Washington, was closed immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and looked at times like it might be shut down permanently for security reasons. It reopened by presidential order, with the tightest security of any airport in the country.
The first flight out was a 7:05 a.m. US Airways shuttle to New York, whose passenger list included the airline's president, Stephen M. Wolf, and nine Washington area politicians. Most came right back on a plane to Washington.
"We've got to run to make up for lost time and lost money," said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). "This was not a victory lap. This was the beginning of a long haul to get back."
Heightened security was evident everywhere, from the armed U.S. marshals at the ticket counters to the National Guardsmen at the baggage X-ray machines. Passengers arriving at National said security had been tight at the airports they left, in keeping with new policies that subject flights to National to additional precautions.
One of those roaming the airport's terminal Thursday morning was U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, who was thanking airport workers and checking to see whether the new federal security plan was being followed.
"Is it working?" Mineta said. "As far as I can tell, it is."
Asked whether National will see a resumption of its entire pre-Sept. 11 flight schedule, Mineta said, "It will, but I don't know when."
</font>
[This message has been edited by ebell (edited 10-09-2001).]