In a carefully orchestrated, high-security event that also involved top federal, state and local officials, Bush also called for aircraft modifications to make it harder for would-be hijackers to get into cockpits, and a federal takeover of airport security.

"Our mutual goal is to get airplanes flying again all across the nation," Bush told the cheering crowd. "Get on an airliner. Get back to the business of America."

Two jets were parked nose-to-nose at the event - one each from United Airlines and American Airlines, the carriers hijacked two weeks ago. The attacks left nearly 7,000 dead or missing.

Bush found a message in the two corporate logos: "America is united!" he said. "We are united in bringing justice to those folks who did the evil deed on Sept. 11." As he spoke, departing jets roared overhead.

"We will not surrender our freedom to travel. We will not surrender our freedoms in America,'' Bush said, his voice rising to a shout.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta flew to Chicago aboard a commercial flight to demonstrate his confidence in the air system. He was accompanied by Jane Garvey, head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The president said other members of his cabinet would soon be taking commercial airline flights around the country to demonstrate their confidence in the industry.

Politicians greeting the president as he arrived at O'Hare included Mayor Richard Daley, Gov. George Ryan and House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). Flying in with Bush on Air Force One were U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and U.S. Reps. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) and Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.).

Tougher Security

Bush said nothing about some of the more controversial proposals that had been under consideration, such as arming pilots with stun guns to help them fight off attackers, or limiting carry-on luggage to reduce the volume of items that must be screened. He did, however, call for developing one radical new technology: the ability for ground controllers to take control of an airliner and land it by remote control, if necessary.

On the ground, the federal government would take charge of airport security at the nation's 420 commercial passenger airports. Security workers would include a combination of federal and nonfederal personnel, with federal uniformed employees managing all operations.

The federal government would reimburse the states to call up National Guard troops, which would be stationed at all commercial airports after receiving training in airport security techniques from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Aloft, cockpit doors would have to be strengthened, with better locks. Rather than install video surveillance cameras in cockpits, as earlier proposed, the president called for cameras in the passenger cabin so that a cockpit crew could monitor activity there.

Also, transponders -- radar-activated location beacons -- would be modified so they could not be turned off.

The president pledged $500 million in federal funding to pay for these and other aircraft changes. The proposals require Congressional approval.

Members of Congress, briefed on Bush's plan this week, said it would relieve the airlines of the responsibility for ground security in their terminals, a task the carriers currently contract out to private screening companies.

New air marshals -- as many as 12,000, sources say -- would have to be hired to greatly expand the FAA's existing program. The FAA said Wednesday that it has received more than 150,000 applications for air marshals, who carry firearms and ride undercover aboard an undisclosed number of flights.

Officials said air marshal candidates were being enlisted from federal law-enforcement agencies and undergoing four days of accelerated training before being put onto flights.

Support from airline workers

Airline employees at O'Hare today welcomed many of the president's security plans.

Michele Smith, of North Aurora, an American Airlines flight attendant for 16 years, said, "The proposals would give me a lot of peace of mind when I'm up there. My biggest worry is keeping madmen from getting into the plane in the first place. So the security on the ground is a real relief."

American Airlines Pilot Ed Zeek said he could support armed air marshals on planes. "As long as there's some kind of control of the situation from inside the plane, we need to make it harder for the terrorists to get into the (the cockpit)," he said.

American Airlines mechanic Joel Cairns, of Wheaton, said, "These measures are long overdue. This is security that should have been tightened before this ever happened.

United Pilot Fred Schulze, 40, Park Ridge, said he would welcome more stringent security at airport terminal checkpoints. "Federalizing it, giving them higher pay and setting better standards is definitely the way to go," he said.

Airlines devastated

The president's visit follows more than two seeks of economic devastation to the airlines, caused first by a nationwide shutdown of all air traffic, and then by a fearful public that canceled plans to fly.

Ridership has plunged since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks involving four hijacked airliners. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York, one crashed into the Pentagon in Washington and one crashed in rural Pennsylvania during an apparent struggle between hijackers and passengers.

On Wednesday, Delta Air Lines announced it will cut 13,000 jobs -- about 15 percent of its total work force. The Atlanta-based carrier also said it was cutting its capacity by 15 percent because of the decline in air travel after the terrorist attacks.

Company spokesman Tom Donahue said Delta has lost about $1 billion since the terrorist attacks. The airline will get about $600 million from the $5 billion cash relief for the airlines approved by Congress last week, Donahue said.

Other U.S. airlines have announced about 80,000 job cuts since Sept. 11. AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, and UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, each cut 20,000 jobs. Northwest, Continental and US Airways also announced job cuts. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is the only major carrier that has not announced job reductions.

Lunch crowd cheers president

After the airport speech, Bush and Mayor Daley led an entourage to the Norwood restaurant at Northwest Highway and Raven Street on Chicago's Northwest Side. When the president arrived, Sen. Walter Dudycz (R-Chicago) led a crowd of about 50 diners in singing "God Bless America," followed by chants of "U.S.A! U.S.A!"

Before lunching on a cheeseburger and a Diet Coke, the president worked the crowd, posing for photographs and signing autographs.

One of his signatures went to Arne Hagglund, one of 11 Chicago firefighters who volunteered to go to New York to help rescuers. Hagglund brought a photo of himself and another firefighter standing at Manhattan's ground zero, the site of the destroyed World Trade center.

As Bush thanked Hagglund, the president reached into his coat pocket and said, "I still have my badge," holding up the shield of a New York Port Authority police officer who died in the attack -- a badge given to the president by the guard's mother and displayed by the president during his address to the nation a week ago.