Judy Reville, division manager of AAA Auto Club South in Augusta, said Friday the phones haven't been ringing as usual.

''A lot of people are day-to-day deciding whether to cancel,'' she said. '' It depends whether their flights are going out. A lot of airlines are letting people reschedule trips and not charge penalties.''

On Wednesday, Delta Air Lines released a statement on its Web site confirming that travelers with reservations Sept. 11-18 can change travel dates or cancel reservations without a fee or penalty.

''We have a lot of customers already ticketed and trying to get back home,'' Ms. Reville said.

Morris Travel in Augusta also is feeling the effects of the terrorists' attacks.

''Some people have canceled before leaving. Those who were en route and the ones already at their destination - everyone's affected,'' said Margaret Centers, senior travel consultant for Morris. ''When the incident happened, we had passengers ready to board flights from Augusta or in Atlanta ready to make connecting flights.''

After learning what happened, many customers rented cars and drove back to Augusta or immediately called in cancellations and never left the area, she said.

Although some airlines resumed flights Thursday, air traffic business has dropped off.

The bulk of Morris customer callers Tuesday requested advice on what to do if they canceled reservations.

''We tried to give them options if they needed to cancel,'' Ms. Centers said. ''Any time you have an international ordeal like this, people are hesitant about traveling.''

At Aiken's AAA Vacations, Dawn Them was fairly optimistic.

''The impact is far-reaching, but we expect patience from our customers when traveling,'' Ms. Them said Friday.

''Things are starting to crank up,'' she said, referring to news about airport reopenings. ''We're still getting new business - especially business travel. That's a necessity.

And though some agencies are reporting a dropoff in air travel, bus travel seems to have picked up.

According to Susan Shelton, assistant manager at the Greene Street bus station, business had increased since Tuesday's attacks.

''We have seen some, about 20 percent,'' she said.

Reach Timothy Cox at (706) 823-3217.