Airports

Category Archives for Airports.

Turkey Strikes Deal For Control Of The Kabul Airport

by Gary Leff on August 28, 2021

Aug 28 2021

To show just how complicated things are, though, the previous government of Afghanistan had negotiated a deal with a UAE-based group to operate the airport and “[t]he Taliban will need to cut a separate deal with them.”

The deal gets Turkish President Erdogan a bargaining chip with the West, and also helps avoid Turkey being the recipient of refugees (as they are from Syria) and gives them control of the drug trade out of Afghanistan. Put another way, Turkish control over the airport probably makes continued expatriation of Afghans possible while also being a bad result in greater Turkish influence in the region as well as inside NATO.

Gavin Newsom Recalled – In Delta Air Lines Atlanta Airport Announcement

by Gary Leff on August 26, 2021

Aug 26 2021

In a prank, someone asked for Delta Air Lines help in recalling Newsom to gate A25 at the Atlanta airport. In the best Bart Simpson tradition, Delta paged “Recall Newsom.”

Will Cuomo’s Departure Save Us From The LaGuardia AirTrain To Nowhere?

by Gary Leff on August 13, 2021

Aug 13 2021

Dozens of Port Authority of New York New Jersey are speaking out about the non-sensical plan to build a train to nowhere from New York LaGuardia now that Governor Andrew Cuomo is resigning and it’s safe to do so.

Newark Airport Beer Is Expensive, And Congress Wants Answers

by Gary Leff on August 12, 2021

Aug 12 2021

Last week I wrote about airport concessions operator OTG charging $28 plus tax and tip for beer at Newark airport. This clearly violates their lease to abide by ‘street pricing’ rules.

While there’s no longer $28 beers for sale at Newark, four members of Congress want in on the outrage.

40th Anniversary Of The Air Traffic Controllers Strike That Turned The Tide Of U.S. Labor Relations

by Gary Leff on August 4, 2021

Aug 04 2021

August 3-5, 1981 were a remarkable set of days in U.S. aviation. The union declared a strike on August 3, 1981 which violated what is now 5 U.S.C. § 7311 prohibiting federal government employees from striking.

President Reagan ordered air traffic controllers back to work, calling their strike a “peril to national safety.” Reagan gave striking controllers 48 hours to return to work or lose their jobs. On August 5, 1981 he fired 11,345 striking controllers.

All Wuhan Flights Cancelled Again As Covid-19 Returns To Where It Began

by Gary Leff on August 3, 2021

Aug 03 2021

The original Covid-19 outbreak may have been nearly 40 times worse than official statistics suggest. The Wuhan airport re-opened in early April 2020 as a big show of Chinese success at containing Covid-19. They also put on a big show of disinfection, even though the airport had been closed for ten weeks.

Now they’re facing Delta, and transportation in and out of Wuhan is again cut off.

$28 Beer, $11 Fries, Airport Restaurants Flouting “Street Pricing” Rules To Gouge Customers

by Gary Leff on August 2, 2021

Aug 02 2021

Take, for instance, the $27.85++ Sam Adams Summer Ale at New York LaGuardia that also incurs a 10% Covid charge that’s “not a gratuity for employees.”

When called on it the airport concessions company argued that this pricing was a ‘mistake’ but also a better value than they’re being given credit for.

Congressman Brings Gun Through Airport Security, Police Stores It For Him So He Doesn’t Miss Flight

by Gary Leff on August 1, 2021

Aug 01 2021

Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) is one of the youngest members of Congress ever, and the first one to be born in the 1990s.

He brought a gun through a TSA checkpoint. He wasn’t arrested, didn’t have the gun confiscated, and wasn’t even asked to take it out of the airport. Instead the gun was stored for him while he left on his trip, to avoid causing him any delay.

The Surprising Reason Older People Use The Bathrooms More In Airports

by Gary Leff on July 31, 2021

Jul 31 2021

Little details matter. When designers get something wrong, people respond, and sometimes in ways you wouldn’t expect.

What Happens To People Who Violate The Air Travel Mask Mandate? Usually Nothing

by Gary Leff on July 30, 2021

Jul 30 2021

The fine for not wearing a mask in public transportation the first time is just $250. But almost no one is cited for this, I see passengers walking around airports all the time maskless and nobody stops them. Airlines enforce masking on the aircraft, but airports don’t enforce it in the terminal most of the time.

Once someone is cited, though, that doesn’t mean anyone winds up paying a fine. In fact only two people have actually agreed to do so.