Libya’s Wild Air Traffic Control Stunt Diverts And Strands Nigerian Soccer Team, Putting Africa Cup In Jeopardy

by Gary Leff

Oct 17 2024

Tensions between Nigeria and Libya have flared after Libya seemingly used air traffic control to gain an edge in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying soccer match between the two national teams.

Nigeria’s national team was flying to Benghazi – and had its permission to land pulled at the last minute, sending them to an airport 135 miles away (that wasn’t even their diversion airport) and denying them accommodations on the ground where they were left stuck for about 19 hours. Nigeria’s Super Eagles ultimately declined to play the match.

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DOT Awards New DCA Slots: Major Airlines Win Big, But One Of The Flights Could Be Illegal

by Gary Leff

plane on snowy tarmac
Oct 16 2024

The Department of Transportation has made its determination about the five new “beyond perimeter” routes that would be permitted to operated at Washington’s National airport. These are flights provided for in the FAA Reauthorization Act which are farther the airport’s current cap for most flights of 1,250 miles. The decision was made months after the agency was statutorily required to announce it.

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American Airlines Rolls Out Tech to Enforce Boarding Groups And Stop Line Jumpers

by Gary Leff

Oct 16 2024

People queue up to board. They rush the gate. They try to board long before it’s their turn, even though they’ll be fine with overhead space usually unless they’re among the last on the plane.

Airlines made this game. They can’t do simple back-to-front boarding because they sell priority boarding, sell first class, and reward customers with status.

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Southwest Airlines Under FAA’s Microscope: New Safety Findings Uncovered As Audit Continues

by Gary Leff

Oct 16 2024

Over the summer the FAA launched a safety audit of Southwest Airlines. This came after the airline came within feet of the water while still miles from Tampa less than a month after another of the airline’s 737s descended to just over 500 feet while still 9 miles out from the Oklahoma City airport. In April, a Southwest Airlines flight in Hawaii came within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean. Then in June a Southwest Airlines flight took off from a closed runway Southwest has shared internally some of the issues that FAA inspectors have flagged during the Certificate Holder Evaluation Process Safety Audit. I suppose some of these are better than the pilots who spent a flight watching video feed of passengers in the lavatory? The airline declined comment since “[t]he CHEP is still…

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Delta’s Luxe Cabin Revamp: Memory Foam Seats And Mood Lighting Can’t Hide Surface-Level Refresh

by Gary Leff

Oct 15 2024

Delta Air Lines has announced an interior cabin refresh. They’re tying this to their 100 year anniversary, presenting a new more modern image. The palette is darker. They won’t swap out seats, just add memory foam padding to some seats. And they’re adding new lighting. Naturally this is pitched as being “premium” and a new interior, to most passengers, feels like new planes.

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