Americans still shun air travel - Your Life - Brief Article

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will continue to have an impact on American travelers throughout 2002. We may begin to go places at nearly the same rates as before, but not with our previous sense of security, according to Jay Lindly, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and a researcher with the University Transportation Center, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. "Everyone does dwell on the ... attacks, and this unease won't disappear quickly. Although we may be known for our short attention spans, Americans will not forget this. This is different than anything we've faced before."

Travel numbers by most modes of transportation were way down in the days and weeks following the attacks. People wanted to stay close to home, their families, and familiar surroundings, so there were fewer traveling by highways and railways, as well as in the air. While many Americans have begun to travel again, their patterns of travel have changed, along with their sense of safety during trips.

Highway statistics in 2002 will meet expectations for a normal year, Lindly predicts. "People will be using their cars, especially since gasoline prices are low, and don't seem to have a reason to move up until summer, but air travel will continue to be somewhat depressed. Airplanes faced a double-whammy--they were the method of attack on September 11, and, as things started to recover, there was the airliner crash in Queens, New York."

The numbers of Americans who travel by air, at least domestically, is increasing and will continue the trend, but they will not get back to their pre-attack level during the coming year, he forecasts. Most people who had regularly flown will go back to it, although perhaps not as frequently as before, "and there will be some folks who just won't go if a plane is their only option."

Most tourist and vacation destinations reported a decline in visitors during the last part of 2001, and travel to major tourist spots will stay less popular in the coming year, Lindly maintains. "People will opt for more short trips now, regional trips with their families, places that don't take them too far from home," so tourist attractions will continue to be hard hit in the foreseeable future.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group