At the Atlanta airport, confusion and apprehension

By GINA PICCALO
Associated Press

As investigators tried to reach the crash site of Flight 592, which went down in the Everglades Saturday shortly after leaving Miami for Atlanta, long lines circled airline ticket counters as passengers tried to learn when they would depart.

Bruce and Beth Tomlin, waiting with their children, 4-year-old Michael and 2-year-old Sarah, had not heard about the crash that apparently killed everyone on board until after they arrived at the airport.

``Normally, it wouldn't bother me,'' said Bruce Tomlin, of Charlotte, N.C. ``But it does now because this is the second time I've flown ValuJet and it seems like their planes are always substandard.''

The Tomlins were on their way home from a vacation in Fort Walton Beach. Their plane was delayed 1 1/2 hours because of a flat tire.

Concourse gets crowded

They were among hundreds of people who crowded ValuJet's gates at Concourse C as the airline tried to cope with delays throughout its 26-city system.

Toddlers screaming with glee passed the time playing on an indoor jungle gym while parents sat nearby. Some passengers on crowded flights settled on the floor for a long wait while others walked the long hallways in search of food or diversion.

Susie Erwin, of Peachtree City, Ga., was with her adult daughter, Cicely, who had been scheduled to fly to Mobile on ValuJet, with a final destination of Panama City, Fla.

At considerable expense, she changed to Delta.

``I wasn't going to put my child on there,'' Erwin said. ``My husband has his own airplane and he said `no.' It's less stressful for the passenger, my daughter, and for me.''

The ValuJet ticket cost $40, she said, while the Delta ticket was $284.

Regular customer unfazed

Atlanta antiques dealer Dorothy Defrancia was relieved to return home from Washington, D.C., where her flight had been delayed 1 1/2 hours because of thunderstorms.

She said she didn't consider changing her flight despite hearing about the flight while waiting to board in Washington.

``It didn't worry me getting on the plane because I thought the chances of two in one day were pretty slim, so I would probably be OK,'' said Defrancia, who has flown ValuJet since it began operations in 1993.

She said ``too much growth, too fast,'' could be a factor in the airline's recent troubles.

``I've seen a phenomenal change in the service. The planes now are always crowded and always late,'' she said.

No explanation

Astrid Reurink, 18, of Amsterdam, and Silvia Borioni, 23, of Italy, thought they would board their flight to New Orleans at 7:30 p.m. Instead, the exchange students were handed two vouchers putting them behind 68 other people waiting for the next available flight.

``They said something about catching a flight on another airline, but I don't know. We may have to spend the night here. Hopefully, we can be out of here tomorrow morning, and it's only a half-hour flight,'' said Borioni, who is a student at Mary Washington College near Washington, D.C.

The two women weren't told why their flight was canceled. The staff at Gate C-7, where Flight 592 was supposed to have arrived, gave them no explanation, they said.