Relief is in sight, ye weary travelers setting off to farflung parts of this sphere we call Earth: Screening lines at airports are about to get a lot speedier for travelers flying on international airlines now that the Transportation Security Administration has expanded its PreCheck program. [More]
airports
Teen Stowaway Somehow Survives 5-Hour Flight Hidden In Wheel Well
By 4.21.14
In news that we fear might give cheapo airlines some ideas about how to squeeze more passengers on a plane, a teenage stowaway not only managed to sneak into the wheel well of a jet, but somehow managed to survive sub-freezing temperatures and super-thin air for more than five hours on a flight from California to Hawaii. [More]
No, You Cannot Fly Around With WWI Artillery Shells In Your Checked Baggage
By 4.9.14
Much like the time Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips was told he couldn’t bring grenades, inactive or not, in his luggage while flying, some teens on the way home from visiting European battlefields had to part with their souvenir World War I artillery shells. Bummer. [More]
No, Chipotle Will Not Be Adding A Breakfast Burrito To The Menu
By 3.14.14
Perhaps you thought that one time you stumbled upon a Chipotle breakfast burrito at the airport was some sort of delirious, travel-induced fever dream. It wasn’t — but the chain has decided to stop testing breakfast options like the egg-filled burritos and not bring them to the wider market. [More]
Pilots Head To The Wrong Airports More Frequently Than You Might Imagine
By 2.10.14
Last month, a Southwest Airlines flight made headlines when it landed at the wrong Branson, MO, airport, but a new report finds that while it’s rare for a pilot to make a mistake about where to land his or her plane, it happens more than you probably think it does. [More]
Don’t Take A $1,000 Cab Ride From NYC To Boston If You Don’t Have The Money
By 2.7.14
There are many ways to travel from New York City to Boston. There are inexpensive buses and even trains. In theory, you can even take a taxi from the airport right to your front door, but that’s an expensive option. When you insist that you totally have the money in your house back in Boston, but don’t, you’re going to get in some trouble. [More]
Southwest, JetBlue End Up Big Winners In US Airways/American Merger
By 1.30.14
When US Airways and American Airlines finally got the go-ahead from federal regulators to get hitched, one of the conditions was that the merged company divest itself of takeoff and landing slots at airports around the country, especially at Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C., Southwest Airlines announced today it will be taking over half of the newly available slots. [More]
Here’s How A Guy Used A Single First-Class Ticket To Eat Free For A Year Without Ever Flying
By 1.29.14
In one of the most literal expressions of the phrase “meal ticket” that you’ll probably ever hear, a man in China was able to parlay his single first-class ticket on Eastern China Airlines into a full year of free meals. [More]
Colorado Airport Installing “Pot Amnesty Boxes” In Case You Forgot To Leave Your Drugs At Home
By 1.15.14
It’s only been two weeks since marijuana for recreational use became legal in Colorado, but it appears that authorities are worried citizens will already forget pretty common norms. For example: Pot does not belong at the airport, and you most definitely can’t bring it on a plane. The Colorado Springs Airport is ready to help, however, with new “pot amnesty boxes.” [More]
TSA Just Decides Everyone In My Line Is Qualified For Expedited Screening
By 1.13.14
Usually when we write about gripes with the Transportation Security Administration, it’s that the TSA is being too nosy and touchy-feely at airport security checkpoints, but what about when it just decides that two entire lines of travelers don’t need the full screening and deserve the same expedited screening as the pre-vetted travelers in the TSA PreCheck program? [More]
Airport Security Guard Makes Diving Catch To Save Baby From Falling On His Head
By 12.17.13
While it’s probably highly likely that there are babies tumbling or falling down somewhere in the world at any given moment — babies do not have the best balance, after all — it’s not so often that one witnesses a bystander diving in to save a tippy toddler just in the nick of time. [More]
This Guy Made A Homemade Shotgun — All With Stuff He Bought At Airport Stores After Security
By 11.26.13
Of course, the Transportation Security Administration is not going to let anyone through security with a homemade weapon that could hurt someone. Heck, you can’t even bring a big snow globe or your Mamaw’s cranberry sauce. But that doesn’t mean you can’t whip up a homemade shotgun using only products purchased after security. Say what? [More]
4 Things That Make Airline Boarding A Complete Mess
By 11.18.13
For decades, airlines around the world have spent untold fortunes analyzing passenger behavior and plane design to come up with the best way to squeeze all those people into a jet in a timely fashion, and yet no one has cracked the code and passengers still get stuck in long lines, often because of the same old reasons. [More]
US Airways Fined $1.2 Million For Repeatedly Failing To Provide Proper Wheelchair Assistance
By 11.5.13
After reviewing hundreds of consumer complaints about US Airways’ lack of proper assistance for travelers in wheelchairs at two of the airline’s hub airports, the Dept. of Transportation has fined the carrier $1.2 million, a good chunk of which is to be used to improve systems for disabled passengers at these airports. [More]
Yes, Those Are Grave Markers Embedded In This Airport Runway
By 11.1.13
Maybe this story was more appropriate yesterday, but since I’m still wearing my Batgirl costume while I write this, the Halloween spirit remains. Anyway. As you may know, there are plenty of airports abutting or very near cemeteries, but an airport in Georgia actually has two graves — complete with two grave markers — as part of one of its runways. [More]
Cleaners Find Load Of Gold Bars In Airplane Toilet Worth $1.8M
By 10.28.13
When you’re responsible for cleaning airplane lavatories, we imagine there aren’t a lot of perks to scrubbing out toilets used by hundreds of passengers. So we can only hope that the cleaners who discovered 280 gold bars in a plane toilet get to keep a couple, just to even out the balance in the universe. [More]
Injured Kangaroo Hops Into Airport Pharmacy, Can’t Find “Marsupial Care” Aisle
By 10.16.13
Perhaps you are the type of person who doesn’t emit squees of joy when faced with adorable animals. If so, I will dare you to look in the face of an injured kangaroo that hopped into Melbourne Airport and hold up under its liquid-eyed stare. [More]
Did An Airport Employee Place Dry Ice Bombs At LAX?
By 10.15.13
Police in Los Angeles say that the dry ice bombs found in supposedly secure areas of Los Angeles International Airport earlier this week may have been set by a disgruntled employee, though the exact reason for placing the devices is still unclear. [More]
