AP/AOL Travel Poll: 79 Percent of Americans Say Gel and Liquid Restriction Makes No Difference In Feelings About Air Travel Safety.

Poll Reveals 44 Percent of Americans Feel That Security Is Inconsistent From Airport To Airport

DULLES, Va. -- A week after the Transportation Safety Administration changed the restrictions on gel and liquids allowed in carry-on baggage aboard airplanes, an AP/AOL Travel (http://travel.aol.com) poll released today indicates that most Americans, 79 percent, say the easing of restrictions on taking liquids and gels onto airplanes makes no difference in how they feel about the safety of air travel.

44 percent indicated that they believe security in not consistent at various airports, and 41 percent of Americans feel that it is consistent. While most Americans (64 percent) say the rules regarding liquids and gels are easy to understand, a significant minority, 32 percent, believes the rules on what can be carried aboard airplanes are confusing.

However, on a positive note for the travel industry, 43 percent of Americans feel that air travel today is very safe, which is somewhat higher than other polls taken since the 9/11 attacks, including one this summer that reported Americans' satisfaction levels with air safety in the 30s.

Other findings include:

* 94% and 91% of Americans stated that safety and cost were very important or somewhat important, respectively;

* 61% of Americans have used the Internet to research a travel destination;

* 44% of Americans are planning to take a vacation in the next 12 months. Most plan vacation trips in the United States, but 37% of those planning vacations say they're planning to take a trip abroad;

* The beach (35%) beats the mountains (29%), major cities (19%) and theme parks (10%) as the most popular type of vacation destination.

Survey Methodology

The AP-AOL Travel poll was conducted by Ipsos, an international public opinion company. 1,000 adults were interviewed by telephone from September 26-28. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

About the Associated Press 

The Associated Press is the world's oldest and largest newsgathering organization, providing content to more than 15,000 news outlets with a daily reach of 1 billion people around the world. Its multimedia services are distributed by satellite and the Internet to more than 120 nations. For more information, visit www.ap.org.

About AOL

AOL is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs the country's largest Internet access business, and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. AOL LLC is based in Dulles, Virginia. AOL and its subsidiaries also have operations in Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.