What she found was less than comforting, she said.

"It kind of surprised me that they didn't take as much time," she said. "They didn't check each person individually."

In the year since, Ms. Burrus said she has seen security procedures expand and become more uniform.

Passengers, who used to just pass through a metal detector and answer questions about their luggage before boarding, may now be asked to open their bags for hands-on searches, turn on their laptop computers and step aside for inspection with metal-detecting wands.

Airport size doesn't matter when it comes to addressing the host of new security regulations designed to prevent a similar attack.

At Augusta Regional Airport, even the mayor takes off his shoes while stepping through passenger screening.

"I was impressed, because for such a small airport, I thought they were doing a good job with security," Ms. Burrus said. "I don't know if they can catch everything, but I do feel a lot safer now."

A sign outside Augusta Regional is an indication of changes in security across the country. A federal mandate requires the installation of explosives-detection devices or hand-held equipment in all commercial airports by year's end. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Less than an hour after the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all aircraft nationwide.

The next day, when planes took off again from Augusta Regional, new rules already were in place.

Family members and friends were no longer allowed past screening points. All cutting tools and knives were taken from passengers. Richmond County Sheriff's Office deputies were stationed at the airport and searched all cars.

There were some bumps along the way as passengers and airport workers got used to the changes.

"One of the first challenges after the flights resumed was to re-educate everybody," said airport spokeswoman Kathryn Solee.

At Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, a man rushing to catch his flight in November bypassed the security line and prompted the evacuation of 10,000 people.

In April, Augusta Regional was evacuated when a suspicious bag holding an electrical device was left behind a ticket counter. Passengers scuttled out of the terminal, and a bomb squad investigated, discovering that the device was a hair dryer.

But for the most part, Ms. Solee said, people now understand the new security procedures.

A few months ago, she checked the boxes of confiscated tweezers, nail clippers and pocketknives that screeners started collecting after September.

"What we realized is that people got smart, and there wasn't the volume that there had been," she said.

Most of the airport's short-term and curbside parking were closed after the FAA imposed a rule that cars were not allowed within 300 feet of the terminal.

Armed Georgia National Guard soldiers arrived at the airport in October, sent to monitor screening points.

Earlier this year, the parking lots reopened as the FAA relaxed the airport's 300-foot rule, and the Guardsmen ended their temporary mission there.

But there are still more security deadlines to meet this year.

By Nov. 19, the Transportation Security Administration, a federal agency created after the attacks, is required to recruit, hire and train more than 30,000 passenger screeners to replace private security workers.

By the end of the year, the agency also must hire 22,000 federal baggage screeners and install explosives-detection machines or hand-held equipment in all 429 commercial airports in the country.

"The biggest challenge is going to be with baggage screening," Ms. Solee said. "We're an old building with a funny shape, and finding room for that - I don't know that they've actually come up with a decision yet."

Reach Vicky Eckenrode at (706) 823-3227 or vicky.eckenrode@augustachronicle.com.