Airports

Category Archives for Airports.

Jetstream Music Festival: 23 Airports Will Livestream A Concert On May 6

by Gary Leff on April 30, 2020

Apr 30 2020

Airports across North America – 22 in the U.S. and one in Canada – will be bringing you JetStreamFest, the JetStream Music Festival, on Facebook Live beginning May 6 at 6 p.m. Eastern time. The event, hosted by my home town Austin airport which features live music throughout the year during normal times, will feature local musicians from each participating airport’s city. “Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World. Typically, we have 31 live performances across 7 stages in our terminal. Live music and supporting our local artists is who AUS is, even during the difficult times,” said Jacqueline Yaft, Chief Executive Officer of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. “Airports are known for bringing people together, and we want to continue doing so even when you can’t travel. Virtual music is a great way to…

Hong Kong Airport Tests Disinfecting Booths To Take Temperatures, Kill Virus

by Gary Leff on April 29, 2020

Apr 29 2020

The Hong Kong International Airport is testing a new booth that people can walk through that will take their temperatures and disinfect their clothing and bodies. It does not test for the presence of viruses, though, or whether someone is contagious.

Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK Airports Adopt New Access Restrictions

by Gary Leff on April 28, 2020

Apr 28 2020

Effective today the Port Authority of New York New Jersey is limiting access to Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK airports to “ticketed passengers, airport employees, and other with a need to enter for airport business.” Clearing security is already limited, so these new restrictions focus on pre-security areas of the terminals.

Eerie Deserted Airports Will Start To See Passengers Again Very Soon

by Gary Leff on April 28, 2020

Apr 28 2020

It will be some time before we’re doing very much international travel. One reason is that immunity passports aren’t going to work.

However as some states begin to open their economies we’ll begin to see a little more travel again. Indeed we’re already beginning to.

You Can’t Visit The Airport Now, But You Can Still Hear Its Voice

by Gary Leff on April 27, 2020

Apr 27 2020

Carolyn Hopkins is a comforting voice that nearly every traveler knows. She did voice over for Disney World 31 years ago. She’s the voice of the New York City subways, but she’s only ridden them once – in 1957. Her first airport announcement was for Chicago O’Hare – but now she’s done announcements for more than 200 airports.

Hopkins is the voice of New York’s LaGuardia and JFK, Denver, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Toronto Pearson, Calgary, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Seoul Incheon and many more.

China’s Wuhan Airport Has Now Re-Opened

by Gary Leff on April 8, 2020

Apr 08 2020

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is 16 miles from the city center of Wuhan, capital of the Hubei province. As the epicenter of the initial COVID-19 breakout, it has been shut down since January 23. The airport was disinfected on Friday.

The airport, which is a focus city for China Eastern, China Southern, and Air China, re-opened today. It has historically had non-stop flights to New York, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Paris, Dubai, Sydney and other destinations in Europe and Asia.

Airport Will Convert To Makeshift Morgue In Preparation For Coronavirus

by Gary Leff on March 28, 2020

Mar 28 2020

A part of Birmingham airport in the U.K. is being converted to a makeshift morgue to initially hold 1500 bodies but with plans to covert to 12,000 as the need arises. Existing storage capacity is expected to be overwhelmed, and staff transferred to the airport facility to handle the volume.

U.S. Immigration N95 Mask Stockpile Won’t Go To Hospitals, Goes To TSA Instead

by Gary Leff on March 27, 2020

Mar 27 2020

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has 1.5 million N95 masks sitting in an Indiana warehouse.

And after discussions about what to do with the masks on Wednesday, it was concluded that “CBP has no plans to offer the masks to hard-hit hospitals, or hand them over to the Federal Emergency Management Agency…” Instead those will be given to the TSA. And CBP will acquire 1.5 million masks to replace those, competing with orders placed by hosptials.

Singapore Bans Short Term Visitors And Transit Passengers

by Gary Leff on March 22, 2020

Mar 22 2020

Singapore is implementing a ban on both short term visitors and transit passengers, starting Monday at 11:59 p.m. local time.

As of this writing Singapore has 432 confirmed cases. The city-state is doing a good job of containing the virus. A concern here is resources, having to identify, monitor and treat incoming cases when their health care system stretches thin.

TSA Screeners Can Go Home, Get Paid For 14 Days At A Time “No Questions Asked”

by Gary Leff on March 20, 2020

Mar 20 2020

TSA screeners are calling out from work by the hundreds, in a challenge that’s expected to get significantly worse, after the agency announced that screeners are now allowed to take paid time off, no questions asked under “weather and safety leave” if they feel at all uncomfortable reporting to work. In fact, it’s expected that thousands of screeners will begin calling out from their jobs.