The coordinated hijackings of four U.S. jetliners last year have changed the way Americans travel.

Travelers are subject to long lines, random security checks and roving eyes while passing through U.S. airports.

Jeannie Streit, manager of AAA Travel, 226 S. 3rd St., said the heightened security is their No. 1 complaint.

“AAA has just done a survey,” Streit said. “It said that seven out of 10 Americans said the attacks did not affect their decision to fly. Basically what it said is they’re more concerned with aviation security than the fear of flying.

“They just want security technology good enough to detect illegal weapons that might be carried on board,” she said.

At Des Moines International Airport, spokesman Michael Audino said the number of flights in service on Wednesday is down because of the Sept. 11, 2001, anniversary.

“There’s about a 6 percent decrease in the number of flights available when compared to a normal day out of the year,” Audino said. “It reflects a reduction of consumer demand in air travel.”

Instead of flying, Streit said travelers have been turning to the nation’s highways. “The road trip is back,” she said.

Clyde Walter, associate professor of logistics operations and management information systems, said vacationers have decided to stay closer to home after the attacks.

Streit said she has not seen many flight price reductions locally, but she did mention that there were instances in Florida and Las Vegas where prices were cut dramatically.

Travel woes

Audino said there will be additional security measures implemented in Des Moines and in the rest of the country during the next several months. He said some of those measures are going to present additional challenges for passengers.

“Some changes will be made at security checkpoint, and you will also see equipment and personnel put in place to accommodate 100 percent baggage security selection,” Audino said. “Clearly right now we have a real challenge as an industry, and that’s to maximize aviation security, airline profitability and customer service.”

U.S. airports have a deadline of Dec. 31 to meet new security demands. The Bush administration said Tuesday that it is opposed to any extensions to that deadline even though 35 airports may miss it.

Due to low consumer demand in flights, several airlines are in financial trouble. Midway and Vanguard airlines have stopped its operations, and U.S. Airways filed for bankruptcy court protection during the summer.

United Airlines, the nation’s second-largest airline company, said in August that it may also seek bankruptcy protection.

“Some won’t [get out of debt],” Walter said. “[The airlines] have some very high-priced employees, and apparently some of them are balking at any salary reductions – and they face the ultimate reduction.

“If they file bankruptcy, their salaries will be zero.”

Terror on the tracks?

Walter said there is also reason to be concerned about the U.S. railroad system – including the set of tracks that runs through Ames.

“For freight transportation, there’s more concern over imports and especially containerized shipments,” he said. “You can’t tell what’s in there – there could be explosive devices in there.”

The trains that run through Ames are international shipping containers that have come from U.S. shipping ports on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, Walter said.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the ports have been more vigilant about what comes into the country, he said.

“There will have to be an inspection at every port,” Walter said. “[The boxes] come in by the thousands. You can get 4,000 to 5,000 on board on each ship. It’s virtually impossible to inspect every one of them.”

-CNN contributed to this article