Travel

Orlando To Miami High-Speed Rail Service Launches

Click Orlando reports: Travelers can officially ride a high-speed train from Orlando to Miami. After years in the making, Brightline on Friday launched its first trains from Orlando and Miami on the grand opening of its new connecting service. The rail system provides service between Miami and Orlando International Airport, with stops throughout South Florida. The high-speed train travels up …

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Climate Change Forces Redesigning Of Major Airports

Bloomberg News reports: Airports around the world are relocating sensitive electrical equipment to rooftops to protect it from flooding, reinforcing runways to handle extreme temperature swings and revving up air conditioning as climate change complicates operations. In New York, the $19 billion redevelopment of John F. Kennedy International Airport includes preparing for more extreme weather events such as storm surges …

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Feds: United Passenger Attempted To Enter Cockpit

The Insider reports: A United Airlines passenger forced a flight to return to the gate after trying to enter the cockpit and opening the exit doors before takeoff on Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration and United Airlines told Insider that the incident happened Friday on United Airlines flight 1641 at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. According to officials, the disruption occurred …

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11 Hospitalized After Severe Turbulence Over Atlanta

Atlanta’s NBC affiliate reports: Eleven people were hospitalized after a Delta flight landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the airline said. A flight from Milan, Italy to Atlanta “experienced severe turbulence” just before landing in Atlanta. According to records on FlightAware, the flight landed just before 7 p.m. Tuesday. Delta said the plane had 151 passengers and 14 crew aboard …

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Airline Fined $4.1M For Holding Fliers On Parked Planes

Courthouse News reports: The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined American Airlines $4.1 million for not letting 5,821 passengers on 43 flights get off the plane during lengthy delays. Officials announced the fine Monday through a consent order, ending the department’s investigation of flights from 2018 to 2021. “This is the latest action in our continued drive to enforce the …

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Spirit Airlines To Pay $8.25M Over “Surprise” Bag Fees

NBC News reports: Spirit Airlines has agreed to pay up to $8.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit by passengers who said the low-cost carrier blindsided them with surprise carry-on bag fees on tickets bought through third-party travel services. Lawyers for the passengers disclosed the deal in a motion late Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn and asked a …

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FAA Data: Airline Close Calls Are Increasingly Frequent

The New York Times reports: While there have been no major U.S. plane crashes in more than a decade, potentially dangerous incidents are occurring far more frequently than almost anyone realizes — a sign of what many insiders describe as a safety net under mounting stress. So far this year, close calls involving commercial airlines have been happening, on average, …

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Airline Sues Travel Site That Sells “Skiplagging” Tickets

The Associated Press reports: American Airlines is suing a travel website that sells tickets that let people save money by exploiting a quirk in airline pricing. American sued Skiplagged Inc. in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, this week, accusing the website of deception. It threatened to cancel every ticket that Skiplagged has sold. In a practice called skiplagging and …

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Woman Sues For Witnessing Delta “Ingestion” Suicide

The Insider reports: A woman is suing Unifi Aviation after she reportedly witnessed one of the company’s employees fatally “ingested” into a Delta airplane’s engine, according to documents viewed by Insider. The suit says passenger Mackenzie Hill was returning to San Antonio, Texas, from Los Angeles on June 23. Hill was in California “for a church conference and graduation ceremony,” …

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Severe Weather Halts Air Travel Along US East Coast

USA Today reports: More than 1,300 flights in the U.S. are canceled, and another 6,400-plus are delayed as of 6:30 p.m. Eastern with severe weather blanketing much of the East Coast Monday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration warned on social media it was anticipating having to pause departures this evening at airports including Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta …

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United Airlines Pilot Arrested After Showing Up Drunk

USA Today reports: A United Airlines pilot had his license suspended after turning up drunk to work a flight from Paris to Dallas on Sunday. French media reports that the pilot, identified as Henry W., received a six month suspended prison sentence and was fined 4,500 euros in addition to having his license suspended for a year. According to local …

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Cruise Line Sorry That Passengers Viewed Whale Hunt

ABC News reports: A cruise line has apologized to over 1,000 of its passengers after one of its ships arrived at port in the middle of a whale hunt where dozens of the marine mammals were being slaughtered. Ambassador Cruise Lines confirmed on Thursday that the arrival of their ship Ambition in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands — located between …

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Flight Diverted After Passenger Melts Down Over Meal

The Guardian reports: A United Airlines flight heading from Houston to Amsterdam was diverted to Chicago after an unruly business class passenger interrupted the flight, reportedly because his first meal choice was unavailable. The flight took off at 4.20pm local time in Houston on Sunday, and was in Chicago airspace two hours into the flight. Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed …

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Flight Canceled After Jet Bridge Rips Off Cabin Door

The Insider reports: An American Airlines flight heading to Philadephia was canceled Sunday after its door fell off while preparing to depart from Dublin Airport. Images shared on Twitter appear to show the Boeing 787 with a hole where the door should be — and the door on the tarmac below. In a statement shared with Insider, an American Airlines …

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Delta Flight Lands Safely Without Nose Landing Gear

The Charlotte Observer reports: A Delta Airlines plane with 101 people on board successfully landed without landing gear at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Wednesday morning, the airline said. Meanwhile, flight delays continued to grow throughout the afternoon as the airport and Delta worked to remove the aircraft from the runway that CLT has now closed. It remained closed as of …

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Air Travel Nationwide Snarled For Fourth Day [VIDEO]

CNN reports: Disruptions for air travelers continued Tuesday for a fourth day with more than 9,000 flights across the United States delayed or canceled after powerful storms ripped through the parts of the country, including in the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Northeast where many busy hubs are located. Data from FlightAware showed that more than 7,300 flights within, into …

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Texas Man “Ingested” By Jet Engine Ruled A Suicide

CNN reports: A ground worker who was “ingested” into a plane’s engine at San Antonio International Airport Friday died by suicide, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of death is listed as blunt and sharp force injuries. The manner of death is listed as suicide, an office assistant for the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office told …

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Texas Airport Worker “Ingested” By Delta Jet Engine

San Antonio’s CBS affiliate reports: San Antonio International Airport officials are investigating after the death of an airline ground crew member. Firefighters and police officers responded to the incident at around 10:25 p.m. Friday night. The NTSB said Saturday the worker went into the engine of a Delta Airlines jet. “Delta Flight 1111 was taxiing to the gate, with one …

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Delta Pilot Arrested For Being Over Legal Alcohol Limit

The Scotland Herald reports: A Delta Airlines flight was due to depart for John F Kennedy Airport on June 16, but was cancelled shortly before take-off. Passengers were moved on to other services, with a 61-year-old pilot arrested for being over the legal alcohol limit. The Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 sets the limit at 20 milligrammes of alcohol …

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Emergency Slide Deploys Inside Cabin Of Delta Plane

Salt Lake City’s ABC affiliate reports: Passengers aboard a Delta flight to Los Angeles came across a frightening scene Saturday when the plane’s emergency slide accidentally deployed inside the cabin, injuring a crew member. According to a Delta spokesperson, Delta flight 520 operating from New York to Los Angeles had to be diverted to Salt Lake City due to a …

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