Airports

Category Archives for Airports.

Why Washington Dulles Is So Much Worse Than Close-In National Airport

by Gary Leff on January 9, 2021

Jan 09 2021

Washington Dulles is a very bad airport. And the reasons why are simple. It’s far from the city but once you make it to the airport you’re still nowhere near the airport. There will eventually be a train to the airport but it – too – will stop before the actual airport.

The reasons Dulles is so bad are legion, but it’s not limited to corruption. Sure contracts go to friends, the Office of Audit doesn’t do formal audits and jobs go to unqualified friends and relatives. But the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority oversees both Washington Dulles and National airports, and National is so much better. The real reasons are much worse.

Trump Supporters Confronted Senator Lindsey Graham At Washington National Airport Today

by Gary Leff on January 8, 2021

Jan 08 2021

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, serially defenestrated by Donald Trump for the past four years, is viewed as insufficiently supportive of the President by Trump’s supporters – at least by those who came to DC this week and stormed the Capitol.

The President’s supporters found Lindsey Graham flying American Airlines at Washington’s National airport’s C pier and confronted him as a “liar” and a “traitor” for breaking with Trump’s disputing of the election outcome this week. And one raises the QAnon conspiracy calling him a pedophile.

Man Caught With Gun At TSA Checkpoint, Ran Away, But He Forgot His Shoes – And ID

by Gary Leff on December 30, 2020

Dec 30 2020

When the screener asked the man to “step aside” he promptly ran away, left the terminal, and hopped into a taxi. He didn’t even stop to collect his shoes, which he’d sent through the x-ray machine as well. He left his bag behind, and also his wallet along with three forms of ID, “his boarding pass, a New York learner’s permit and his passport.”

Donald Trump Wants An Airport Named For Him

by Gary Leff on December 21, 2020

Dec 21 2020

President Trump is asking about what airport will be named for him once he leaves office. However he’s concerned that whatever airport is chosen, it needs to be nice enough. He didn’t accomplish the infrastructure investment he campaigned on, but worries that a dilapidated airport will bear his name.

Grover Norquist raised a ton of money for the ‘Reagan Legacy Project’ to have something named for Ronald Reagan in every state. Trump has reportedly hoped for an organized effort like that around renamings for him.

TSA Reports Man Concealed Box Cutters In A Shampoo Bottle. It Turned Out To Be Pot.

by Gary Leff on December 19, 2020

Dec 19 2020

The TSA took to social media to congratulate themselves for stopping a bad actor. Box cutters raise huge alarms because they were used to take control of aircraft on 9/11. Someone bringing those through a security checkpoint – concealed – raises huge flags. And TSA stopped the plot!

The TSA was forced to clarify that these weren’t box cutters after all, it was marijuana, and nobody tried to take it through a checkpoint since it was, in fact, found in a checked bag.

Get 6 Months Of CLEAR Membership Free (Including Free Family Members Added To Your Account)

by Gary Leff on December 16, 2020

Dec 16 2020

CLEAR takes your finger prints and retina scan and lets you access airport security checkpoints without ID, and some other venues as well. There’s usually no line to use CLEAR, so you skip the security wait. At busy airports and peak times it can be much better than using PreCheck.

The service is offered by a private company, and you pay for it. However through December 31 you can sign up with six months free.

Pittsburgh Airport Introduces On-Demand Covid-19 Testing Inside The Terminal

by Gary Leff on December 15, 2020

Dec 15 2020

I really like the Pittsburgh airport. There’s a Hyatt hotel on the grounds, and they pioneered allow people to go through security even when not traveling same day, something we lost in this country after 9/11. The program meant people could meet arriving passengers, shop and dine, and planespot.

Now they have something new to like: on-demand Covid-19 testing inside the terminal.

Passenger Forgets $339,000 Painting At Check-in, Airport Staff Throws It In Recycling

by Gary Leff on December 12, 2020

Dec 12 2020

This week the owner of the painting got it back. Lost items frequently stay lost which is a huge airline failure. Getting such a valuable item back seems so improbable that the story is now even confirmed at Snopes.com.

Woman Shows Up At The Airport, Proposes To A Man She Met Online 10 Days Ago

by Gary Leff on December 11, 2020

Dec 11 2020

Here’s a new twist on the age old marriage proposal in the skies. A woman who met ‘her soulmate’ online 10 days earlier showed up at the Las Vegas airport to propose to him.

Since meeting they had video chatted every night, but they had never met in person. This would be their first time seeing each other in person – and he doesn’t know she’s coming.

The Federal Government Considers What To Do About Washington National Airport’s Perimeter Restrictions

by Gary Leff on November 29, 2020

Nov 29 2020

On Tuesday the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report on the perimeter rule at Washington National airport. Limits are placed on the distance flights can operate from the airport in order to limit congestion and noise and to protect Dulles airport for longer haul traffic.