Security level affects Springfield airport arrival times

The security level was raised Aug. 10, prompting the Springfield airport to immediately increase its recommended arrival time for passengers to between two and three hours before departure. The airport has since lowered the arrival time to an hour and a half.

Kent Boyd, spokesman for the airport, said the early arrival times are a necessary precaution, as a security scare at a national hub airport could easily affect Springfield air travel.

The orange security level indicates what the Department of Homeland Security deems a high risk of terrorist attacks. The level was raised after British authorities arrested passengers allegedly engaged in a plot to destroy multiple planes flying from the United Kingdom to the United States using liquid explosives.