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Both McDonald's franchises at John Wayne Airport in Orange County are inside the so-called "secure" or "sterile" zones where, under Persian Gulf War security rules, non-passengers are no longer allowed to go.
But beginning last week, in a fast adjustment, the non-passengers-including parking attendants and other airport employees no longer permitted beyond the checkpoints-could order hamburgers, french fries and other items on a special hot line. Within minutes, their orders were delivered through the security lines by McDonald's employees.
"There was a drop. The security interfered somewhat in our business," Isabel Villasenor, the franchise holder, said. "The airport authorities got their creative juices going, and they came up with this. They're letting us use their courtesy lines."
Such ingenuity is spreading. The security rules are not yet four weeks old, but already Southland airports-concerned over business losses or inconveniences to non-passengers-have scrambled to make new arrangements, providing at least elementary food services and lounge seating outside the secured areas.
Meanwhile, longer-range plans are being developed for permanent changes. At Ontario Airport, where a new terminal is planned, a study is under way on a linear configuration that would allow most restaurants and gift shops to be outside the secured areas, said Ron Kochevar, acting airport manager.
Los Angeles International Airport Manager Stephen Yee said: "The kind of security arrangements we have now may well be permanent. And so we are looking at various areas that might be converted on a permanent basis. At the Delta terminal, for instance, we had closed some concessionaire space outside what became the sterile area. Now, we have reopened it."
At Los...