DHS Secretary Floats Pulling Customs From Sanctuary City Airports — JFK, LAX, O’Hare And SFO Lose All International Flights

by Gary Leff

Apr 07 2026

The new DHS secretary says the administration is “looking at” pulling Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in sanctuary cities, which would shut those airports off from international arrivals. The idea is absurd by the standards of the administration’s own policy goals. Many of the airports are not even in the cities being targeted, and cutting off major hubs like JFK, LAX, or O’Hare would ripple far beyond red-blue politics into the entire U.S. air travel system and economy.

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Traveler At Pet-Friendly Hotel Pitched Dog Meat Restaurant Recommendations [Roundup]

by Gary Leff

Apr 06 2026

A traveler at a pet-friendly hotel in China was reportedly sent recommendations for dog meat restaurants, in one of the stranger travel stories of the day. Also: Amex’s Fort Lauderdale lounge waitlist hits 197, politicians are debuting airport holograms, bees delay a flight in Charlotte, and American’s new A319 interiors look far better even as the cabins get tighter.

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White House Budget Bans COVID Air Travel Mask Mandates — Four Years After They Already Ended

by Gary Leff

Apr 06 2026

The White House budget would bar federal spending on COVID air travel mask mandates, reopening one of the most polarizing fights in modern flying even though the federal rule died in court and vanished four years ago. What makes this feel especially strange is that it is not responding to any current mandate at all — it is a symbolic attempt to settle an argument that already ended on April 18, 2022.

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Patent Troll Targets Airline Call Center Software In New Suit — 90+ Filings In 3 Years

by Gary Leff

Apr 06 2026

Patent Armory has sued JSX over the software that routes customer service calls, the latest move from a plaintiff that has filed more than 90 patent cases in just three years. One of the two patents it is asserting has already expired, and a similar suit it brought against Delta lasted only about three months before being voluntarily dismissed.

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Flight Attendant Wore ‘ICE OUT’ Pin Onboard — Politics Is A Bad Idea When You’re The Crew

by Gary Leff

Apr 06 2026

An Alaska Airlines flight attendant was photographed wearing an “ICE OUT” pin while working a recent flight, injecting a charged immigration slogan into one of the few places passengers cannot simply walk away. Whatever someone thinks about immigration enforcement, the cabin is a bad place for crew political messaging: the power imbalance is real, the slogan flattens a complicated issue, and the airline’s brand winds up carrying an employee’s personal politics.

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Park Hyatt St. Kitts Is Beautiful, Relaxed, And A Little Controversial — Why I Keep Going Back

by Gary Leff

Apr 05 2026

Park Hyatt St. Kitts has one of the best physical settings in Hyatt’s portfolio: huge, low-rise grounds, gorgeous views toward Nevis, excellent pools, strong suites, and a calm that never seems to disappear even when the hotel is nearly full.

Service still does not live up to the Park Hyatt name — but after three stays in two years, I think it is improving and offers enough elsewhere, that I keep happily going back.

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