-
-
Stansted Airport expansion gets go-ahead
Controversial plans for an expansion of Stansted Airport in Essex have been given the go-ahead by the government.
Airport owner BAA wants to increase passenger numbers from 25 million to 35 million a year and flights leaving the airport from 241,000 to 264,000 a year.
Objectors said an expansion would damage the environment but some unions said the proposal could bring new jobs.
Uttlesford District Council leader Jim Ketteridge said the decision was a blow for the community.
Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon made the announcement in a written statement to Parliament on Thursday.
Mr Ketteridge said: "Residents already find the level of aircraft noise extremely disturbing and allowing BAA to increase the amount of air traffic marks a further erosion of our quality of life, particularly for all those living near Stansted Airport." Controversial plans for an expansion of Stansted Airport in Essex have been given the go-ahead by the government. ... more -
Pakistan on major terror alert, airports locked down
Following a string of bomb warnings at the country's airports, all flights in Pakistan have been suspended.
Pakistan's civil aviation authority has reportedly instituted a state of emergency.
Benazir Bhutto International Airport has also reportedly been fully evacuated after a phone call saying the building would be blown up. Following a string of bomb warnings at the country's airports, all flights in Pakistan have been suspended. ... more -
Homeland security researching new airport body scanner that reads minds
The Department of Homeland Security is testing a type of body scanner that seeks out invisible clues that a person might be harbouring criminal intent, such as raised body temperature, pulse and breathing rate.
The system, called MALINTENT, uses a raft of "non-invasive" sensors and imagers to detect such factors remotely - subjects are not hooked up to anything. It also evaluates a person's facial expression to help to gauge whether they could be planning to commit an attack or crime.
The technology, developed by the Human Factors division of Homeland Security's directorate for Science and Technology, would be used at border checkpoints, airports and special events that require security screening.
Unlike current technology which aims to detect devices such as guns or explosives, it focuses on the person who could pose the threat.
The technology, dubbed Future Attribute Screening Technology, or FAST, deploys a range of "innovative physiological and behavioural technologies" to pick up "indications of malintent or the intent or desire to cause harm", according to the DHS.
Still in the development stage, it is designed to streamline screening of people at security checkpoints enabling large numbers to be vetted swiftly.
"It would take imaging and sensor technologies to observe physiological changes that might indicate intent to harm, such as skin temperature, pulse, respiration and gestures," said Amy Kudwa, a DHS spokeswoman.
She added it would be capable of distinguishing between someone with a hostile intent and a plane passenger, for example, who was merely stressed about missing a connection.
The technology is currently installed in a mobile unit, or demonstration laboratory, that scans people with multiple sensors while they walk through it. Last week it was tested in Maryland using nearly about 140 volunteers, Ms Kudwa said.
Some of the volunteers were told to act suspiciously as they walked past the FAST sensors.
"We're still very early on in this research, but it is looking very promising," John Verrico, a DHS spokesman, told New Scientist. "We are running at about 78 percent accuracy on mal-intent detection, and 80 percent on deception."
If the sensors pick up anything considered alarming, analysts can decide whether to subject a person to questioning. The Department of Homeland Security is testing a type of body scanner that seeks out invisible clues that a person might be harbouring... more -
Gatwick Airport is for sale!
Credit crunch hits BAA too. They've put Gatwick Airport up for sale for a cool £1.8 billion. Four weeks ago, competition watchdogs told BAA they might have to sell three of their UK airports. So far, interested potential buyers include Virgin, MacQuarie and Fraport. Credit crunch hits BAA too. They've put Gatwick Airport up for sale for a cool £1.8 billion. Four weeks ago, competition watchdog... more
-
Ten reasons to travel in September
Some hot tips from the Telegraph on getaways to catch the last of the summer sun.
-
7yr Old Boy Still on Terrorist Watch List. "I don't understand why I am ...
Is this the face of a terrorist? John Anderson's family was taking a trip to Disney World in 2004 when they were stopped by security at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport.
The airlines thought John, who goes by Jack, was on a terror watch list.
Agents were dumbfounded when they looked over the counter to see the suspected terrorist -- a 2-year-old St. Paul toddler dozing in his stroller with a pacifier hanging from his mouth.
Two years later, the family was stopped by airport security again, owing to Jack's common name. The Andersons have since given up flying, waiting for federal authorities to fix a database that has ensnared more than 30,000 Americans.
Prompted by cases such as Jack's, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is announcing legislation today to minimize airport delays and correct other problems caused by the watch list.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the FBI created a consolidated watch list to help identify potential terrorists. The list contains more than 1 million records on 400,000 individuals and is often used at airports and borders.
A Government Accountability Office report said the watch list "enhanced U.S. counter terrorism efforts."
October's report said the list created "the opportunity to collect and share information on known or appropriately suspected terrorists with law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community."
Klobuchar acknowledged that it's important to have a watch list to help gather information. "I am not opposed to it, but we need to use the technology available to reduce the number of misidentifications."
The list has received criticisms from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union as innocent people go through increased scrutiny because their name resembles another on the list.
Not every John Anderson, Jim Smith or Susan Jones has problems. Passengers are stopped because of some combination of factors. . .
. . . Two years later, during another flight check-in at the Twin Cities airport, the Andersons hit another snag. They were once again allowed to fly, but the security checks frightened Jack as airport officials stared at him in disbelief.
"After that trip, he expressed the fact that he didn't want to fly anymore," Christine Anderson said. "He just kept asking me, 'Why am I on the terrorist watch list? I don't understand why I am a terrorist.'"
(Go to link for the full article) Is this the face of a terrorist? John Anderson's family was taking a trip to Disney World in 2004 when they were stopped by secur... more -
Woman's bra sets off security alarm at Oakland airport
When Nancy Kates arrived at Oakland International Airport to board JetBlue flight 472, she thought she was heading off on a routine journey to visit her mother in Boston. Instead she ended up in a standoff with Transportation Safety Administration officials over her bra.
In the post-Sept. 11 world of heightened airport scrutiny, Kates, like most travelers, is familiar with the drill: Take off shoes and belts, open the laptop, carry shampoo in 3-ounce bottles.
For Kates, on Sunday, though, the security check got too invasive. A big-busted woman wearing a large underwire bra, she set off the metal detector. She was pulled aside and checked by a female TSA agent with a metal-sensitive wand.
Kates gave this account:
"The woman touched my breast. I said, 'You can't do that.'
"She said, 'We have to pat you down.'
"I said, 'You can't treat me as a criminal for wearing a bra.'"
Kates asked to see a supervisor and then the supervisor's supervisor.
He told her that underwire bras were the leading item that set off the metal detectors, Kates said.
If that's the case, Kates said, the equipment must be overly sensitive. And if the TSA is engaging in extra brassiere scrutiny, then other women are suffering similar humiliation, Kates thought.
The Constitution bars unreasonable searches and seizures, Kates reminded the TSA supervisor, and scrutinizing a woman's brassiere is surely unreasonable, she said.
The supervisor told her she had the choice of submitting to a pat-down in a private room or not flying. Kates offered a third alternative, to take off her bra and try again, which the TSA accepted.
"They tried to humiliate me and I was not going to be humiliated over this," said Kates, of Berkeley, Calif. "If I was carrying nail clippers and forgot about them, I wouldn't have gotten so upset. But here I was just wearing my underwear."
So she went to the rest room, then through the security line a second time. Walking through the airport braless can be embarrassing for a large-chested woman, not to mention uncomfortable. The metal detector didn't beep on the second time through, but then officials decided to go through Kates' carry-on luggage, she said.
The whole undertaking took 40 minutes, Kates said, and caused her to miss her flight. JetBlue put her on another one, but she was four hours late getting to Boston. When Nancy Kates arrived at Oakland International Airport to board JetBlue flight 472, she thought she was heading off on a routine jo... more -
Fly from London City airport to N.Y, go through U.S immigrantion in Ireland
When British Airways' planned flights to New York from London City airport stop in Ireland to refuel, passengers will be allowed to go through US immigration checks in advance, the company said yesterday.
The carrier first mooted the scheme for a business class-only service from central London to the Big Apple earlier this year. But it is impossible to fly the route non-stop from City airport because the runways are not long enough for take-off with enough fuel to complete the transatlantic journey. Following an agreement with the US immigration authorities, the 40-minute stop in Shannon will be used not only to refuel, but also to put passengers through immigration and customs checks.
The immigration scheme is central to BA's plans to cut travelling time, alongside allowing fliers to arrive at the airport just 15 minutes before departure. When British Airways' planned flights to New York from London City airport stop in Ireland to refuel, passengers will be allowed ... more -
Fault forces Gatwick jet landing
A plane bound for Barbados was forced to return to Gatwick Airport after the captain reported a technical problem.
The Virgin Atlantic flight returned to the West Sussex airport an hour after take-off. A plane bound for Barbados was forced to return to Gatwick Airport after the captain reported a technical problem. ... more -
Clear Channel removes "anti-McCain" billboard from St. Paul airport
A unit of Clear Channel Communications Inc. will take down an anti-nuclear billboard at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at the request of Northwest Airlines, the advertising company said Monday.
The billboard was one of two placed by the Union of Concerned Scientists at the Twin Cities and Denver airports ahead of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions to urge the parties' presidential candidates to reduce the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, said Elliott Negin, a spokesman for the group.
The ad in Minnesota reads, "When only one nuclear bomb could destroy a city like Minneapolis... We don't need 6,000." It also says, "Senator McCain: It's time to get serious about reducing the nuclear threat." And it shows a picture of the Minneapolis skyline with target crosshairs superimposed over it.
"It uses the word 'bomb' in an airport so it's not real appropriate," Hardie said. "It's probably a little unsettling to people to see that in an airport environment, particularly post 9-11."
Hardie said Clear Channel has asked the Union of Concerned Scientists to modify the ad so it doesn't intimidate passengers, and will accept a revised version if its concerns are met.
E-mails from Northwest officials to Hardie — which Negin said the union obtained from its ad agency — described the ad as anti-McCain, the GOP presidential candidate.
"I just took a look and I can see how this would be offensive/scary to some (the concept of our city in the crosshairs of a nuclear bomb) and the strong anti-McCain message. Can we remove it?" Kathleen Nelson, Northwest's regional director, wrote to Hardie. A unit of Clear Channel Communications Inc. will take down an anti-nuclear billboard at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport... more -
World's Smallest Fighter Plane - Unusual
This unusual fighter plane McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was designed to meet a USAAF requirement for a single-seat "parasite" escort fighter that could be carried by a large bomber. Development of two prototypes was ordered in March 1947. The resulting design was entirely the product of design constraints, which required it to fit into the bomb bay of a B-36 (although it was actually tested under a B-29). The B-36 was the intended mother ship that would carry as many as three Goblins.
A tiny, short fuselage was fitted with low/mid-set foldable swept wings, of 21 ft 1.5 in (6.44 m) span. It was powered by a Westinghouse J34-WE-7 turbojet, of 3,000 lb. (1,361 kg) thrust. There was no landing gear except for emergency skids. The fighter was intended to return to the parent aircraft and dock with a trapeze, by means of a retracting hook. This unusual fighter plane McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was designed to meet a USAAF requirement for a single-seat "parasite" esco... more -
What is Burger King thinking?
Burger King has chosen quite an interesting advertising approach to their Airport locations.
"The Onion is standing in the middle of the airport with his pants around his ankles while an angry, brawny “pickle” slips on a examination glove in preparation for a body cavity search.
I’ve got so many questions."
Check the link for more hilarity. Burger King has chosen quite an interesting advertising approach to their Airport locations. ... more -
Hong Kong International Airport - World's Best Airport
Hong Kong International Airport - World's Best Airport - Amazing
-
A woman celebrates her 10th year living in Palma airport
She came to Mallorca from Germany ten years ago looking to start a new life, she found work as a waitress and various other jobs but soon enough the plan began to fall apart.
"Suddenly there was no work because they only give jobs to Spaniards, I wanted to work in Mallorca but I got stranded here."
The staff have come to know her as "the woman with the cat" since she has a white cat that follows her everywhere. "One friend brings me something to eat twice a week. Sometimes people give me a bit of money as well, but I don't ask anyone for anything" she said.
With such a low profile she is well liked by the staff, and contrary to common belief, she likes her life in the airport, asked if she would has plans to return to Germany, she said "No way. Life is better for me here." She came to Mallorca from Germany ten years ago looking to start a new life, she found work as a waitress and various other jobs but s... more -
Biggest model aeroplane in the world, bigger than most jets
Emirates airlines has built a 1/3rd sized model of their A380. The A380 is the largest airplane on earth, so you can imagine the model is as big as a plane. The model is embedded in cement along the the entrance to Heathrow, to entice passerbys to fly Emirates.
So they basically built an airplane, and forgot to put an engine in it. Emirates airlines has built a 1/3rd sized model of their A380. The A380 is the largest airplane on earth, so you can imagine the model... more -
US airline offers free 'flight' to nowhere
In order to complete a trial run of the new bag check and security systems at JFK airport, JetBlue Airways has come up with an interesting idea: 1,000 frequent flyers are asked to show up and check prepacked bags given to them, go through security and wait at the gate for an imaginary 'flight'. As a reward, the airline is promising unspecified "giveaways", free parking and lunch.
The trial run is meant to prevent a disaster similar to the chaotic opening of British Airways' Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow Airport in March when the new JFK terminal opens in September. In order to complete a trial run of the new bag check and security systems at JFK airport, JetBlue Airways has come up with an interes... more -
Parents forget child at airport
Passports, check. Tickets, check. 3 year-old toddler ...
-
TSA on Track with Canine Explosive Detection Teams
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is on track to provide an additional 200 canine explosive detection teams a year to airports and mass transit systems by 2010, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report sent to Congress.
The expansion in the National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program (NEDCTP) was required by the 9-11 Commission Act.
According to the GAO, TSA has trained or is currently training 104 canine explosives detection teams for 2008. TSA's goal is to train 204, of which 170 will be used to screen cargo.
The report, however, says that the TSA will have to hire additional instructors for the NEDCTP if TSA is to meet its goal of training another 200 canine explosive detection teams in 2009. Training a dog to detect explosives, according to the report, takes 7 months.
Currently, there are 430 canine explosive detection teams in the field, most of which have been deployed to the nation's airports. If TSA meets its goal there should be 720 teams patrolling airports and mass transit systems by the end of fiscal year 2009, the report said. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is on track to provide an additional 200 canine explosive detection teams a year to a... more -
Airbus A380 - World's Biggest Aircraft Model at Heathrow
Weighing in at 45 tonnes, the plane is taking the place of the British Airways model Concorde, which greeted passengers as they arrived at the airport for 16 years, and has been moved to the Brooklands Museum at Weybridge, Surrey.
Its replacement, the Airbus, will remain on the site until 2013 under a deal signed by the airline and BAA, Heathrow's owners.
The model, in the Emirates livery, is as big as a smaller member of the Airbus family, the short-haul A320, and twice the size of the Concorde replica.
for full story & Video
http://www.worldamazingrecords.com Weighing in at 45 tonnes, the plane is taking the place of the British Airways model Concorde, which greeted passengers as they arrive... more -
The Mile High Club
Flying with the masses takes patience to reach your destination with your sanity in tact.
-
related topics
Airports
Contributors (314)
Airports
