Airport volunteers stepping in where airlines cut back

When Jennifer Reed arrived at the security checkpoint at Cleveland Hopkins Airport for her return flight to San Diego, she suffered a mother's worse nightmare. While she tried to take her 3-month-old baby out of his stroller, Mia, her 3-year-old, disappeared. Passengers, not wanting to lose their place in line, pointed where they thought the child had gone. Security agents just stared. But while Jennifer frantically tried to strap the baby back into his stroller so she could search for her toddler, she discovered gold. It was actually a gold jacket and it was on a silver-haired man and he had Mia by the hand.

Apparently, he had seen the child bolt towards a man carrying a helium balloon and went after her. And it didn't stop there. He held the baby and Mia while Jennifer put her items on the security belt and he made sure someone helped Jennifer on the other side.

For Jennifer, the man was her guardian angel. In reality, he was one the airport's volunteer ambassadors. Cleveland began the program in 2003. When the airlines started cutting their staffs to the bare bones, travelers were left to fend for themselves. So the airport began using volunteers to fill the gap.

"It's a great program," said Cleveland resident Jim Hunt. "They're extremely helpful and easy to spot in their gold jackets."

Cleveland isn't the only airport to use volunteer help. Chicago O'Hare has its Ambassadors clad in red. Greeters in San Diego wear green. And if an airport has an information desk, it's probably staffed by volunteers.

Some retired airline employees take it upon themselves to give a hand. Several years ago, when you could still find an agent to answer a question, a retired pilot hung out at the departure gates at Los Angeles International Airport. He wore his uniform and chatted with passengers waiting to take off.

But not all volunteers are there to shoot the breeze. At Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, urban cowboys ride with the wind. The airport's perimeters are heavily wooded, and after 9-11 there was deep concern terrorists might try to do damage.

So the airport formed its own volunteer brigade of Texas Rangers. Local cowboys, armed with cell phones, patrol the outskirts on horseback and keep an eye out for anything strange.

Then there are the four-legged volunteers who use their noses to sniff out trouble.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced the Beagle Brigade to international airports in 1994. The pups sniff out food products that might endanger our own agriculture.

And several airports use dogs to scare off birds and small animals before planes take off and land. A border collie at Southwest Florida International Airport ruffles a lot of feathers. He hounds the birds and small animals before aircraft land or take off. He's a howling success.

During the Gulf War, I worked a flight from London to Frankfurt. While passengers deplaned out the front of the aircraft, the bomb-sniffing pooches boarded from the back and sniffed under every seat.

Today, because of our increased fear of terrorists, the FAA is using puppy power to search for bombs in cargo at many of our airports.

Volunteers, whether by choice or bondage, are one of the few pluses airports have added to the flying experience. Besides offering a friendly smile and a helping hand, some of them even work like dogs.

• Gail Todd, a freelance writer, worked as a flight attendant for more than 30 years. She can be reached at gailtodd@aol.com.

Gail Todd, a free-lance writer,worked as a flight attendant for more than 30years. She can be reached via e-mail at gailtodd@aol.com.