Travel

FAA Orders Ground Stop For Inbound LGA Flights

CNN reports: For a second day in a row, the US Federal Aviation Administration has issued a ground stop for flights bound for New York’s LaGuardia airport as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to spread across the northeastern United States. The FAA’s operations plan for Thursday shows smoke potentially impacting travel from New York to Charlotte. It lists New York’s …

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NYC’s Subway System To Test Platform Safety Barriers

Gothamist reports: The MTA will begin constructing protective doors at three subway station platforms “in the coming months,” agency spokesperson Aaron Donovan told Gothamist on Sunday. The protective barriers are part of a pilot program meant to stop riders from falling — or being pushed — onto the train tracks. The program, which was announced last year, comes in response …

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Woman Breaks Time Record For Traveling NYC Subway

Gothamist reports: New York City’s subway has 472 stations laid out across 665 miles of track. For decades, transit enthusiasts have jockeyed to set the record for the fastest time to travel through the whole system. Last month, Kate Jones, a New Yorker now living in Switzerland, set a new standard. She completed the journey in 22 hours, 14 minutes …

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Buttigieg To Propose Flight Delay Compensation Rules

USA Today reports: The Biden administration will take the first step Monday toward potentially requiring airlines to offer compensation beyond refunds for “controllable” flight cancellations or significant delays, according to a White House official. President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will announce the government is beginning the rulemaking process to examine whether airlines must also provide compensation and …

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Man Who Missed JetBlue Flight Calls In Bomb Threat

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports: An angry passenger who missed his flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles phoned in a bomb threat Thursday, triggering a security alert at LAX, authorities said. The JetBlue flight that landed at Los Angeles International Airport around 2 p.m. was held on the tarmac for more than an hour before passengers were allowed to …

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Texas Man Slugs Flight Crew, Opens Emergency Exit

Fox Business reports: A United Airlines passenger from Texas was restrained by other passengers after he allegedly assaulted a flight attendant and attempted to jump out of the emergency exit before the plane took off from San Francisco International Airport to Houston International Airport. According to a dramatic video posted by Naya Jimenez, the passenger, later identified as 47-year-old Cody …

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FAA Orders Nationwide Ground Stop For Southwest

CNN reports: The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a nationwide ground stop for Southwest Airlines flights, citing “equipment issues.” “Southwest Airlines requested the FAA pause the airline’s departures,” the agency told CNN in a statement. Southwest Airlines reported technology issues Tuesday morning and said it would “hopefully be resuming our operation as soon as possible.” Southwest called the problem “intermittent …

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Flooding Closes Ft Lauderdale Airport, Schools [VIDEO]

The Miami Herald reports: Dozens of flights were canceled Wednesday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after torrential rain and street flooding brought parts of South Florida to a halt. The relentless rain and windy conditions prompted the airport, second largest in the region, to suspend arriving and departing flights, the airport alerted via Twitter around 4:15 p.m. On Wednesday night, …

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Delta Flight Diverted Over Mystery Mass Illness [VIDEO]

Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate reports: After a Delta Airlines flight was diverted to Oklahoma City on Thursday due to multiple people becoming ill on the plane, officials are continuing to investigate the cause of the sickness. The flight, en route to Atlanta from Los Angeles, stopped at the Will Rogers World Airport after officials said nine passengers complained about feeling …

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Proposed Bill Would Grant TSA Its Own No-Fly List

Axios reports: After nearly 2,500 reports of unruly passengers on flights last year, Congress is considering a new no-fly list. Senate and House members proposed legislation Wednesday that would allow the Transportation Security Administration to ban people convicted or fined for assaulting or interfering with airline crews. The Protection from Abusive Passengers Act would prohibit individuals on the list from …

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NYC To End Manning Of Subway Booths Tomorrow

Gothamist reports: More than 2,000 station agents will be stepping out of their subway booths starting Thursday, ending a decadeslong feature of the city’s transit system that has become obsolete. The metal and glass enclosures will not be removed but workers can return there during breaks or whenever they see fit. Commuters will find free-roaming service agents outside their kiosks …

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LaGuardia’s New Terminal Named World’s Best [VIDEO]

The travel site Afar reports: Each year, aviation rankings organization Skytrax doles out its awards for the top airports and terminals in the world. In 2023, there is one passenger facility on the list that may turn heads more than any other, especially if travelers haven’t passed through in recent months. LaGuardia Airport, specifically the 1.3 million–square-foot Terminal B, received …

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Passenger Deploys Emergency Slide, Exits Plane [Video]

Los Angeles’ ABC affiliate reports: A passenger on a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Seattle was detained Saturday for allegedly opening an emergency exit door, moments before the plane was set to take off. The incident happened at around 10 a.m. at the Los Angeles International Airport. In a statement sent to Eyewitness News, Delta said the passenger opened …

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MTA Seizes 20 Vehicles Owing $600,000 In Evaded Tolls

Via press release from the MTA:  The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that its Bridge and Tunnel officers stopped and seized 20 vehicles belonging to persistent toll violators at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Monday, March 20. The scofflaws accounted for nearly $600,000, in unpaid tolls and fees. These efforts go a long way towards securing toll revenue of which …

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TSA Clarifies: We Consider Peanut Butter To Be Liquid

The New York Times reports: The Transportation Security Administration thought it had settled a dispute over peanut butter some time ago: unless it is 3.4 fluid ounces or less, it has to be checked. However, the question of what the T.S.A. considers a liquid continues to confuse passengers. It bubbled up again last week when a writer and podcaster tried …

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New York Gov Scraps Plan For AirTrain To LaGuardia

The New York Times reports: There will be no AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport. Gov. Kathy Hochul has abandoned plans to build a light-rail link to LaGuardia after a review found that the project’s cost had ballooned to $2.4 billion, more than five times initial estimates. When Ms. Hochul’s predecessor, Andrew M. Cuomo, first announced the pet project in 2015, he …

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Man Tried To Stab Flight Attendant, Open Door [VIDEO]

From the Justice Department: A Leominster, Mass. man has been arrested and charged for allegedly attempting to open an emergency exit door while aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston and then allegedly attempting to stab a flight attendant in the neck. Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with …

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Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Bird Strike, Fire

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Fort Lauderdale returned to Havana Sunday after the aircraft was reportedly struck by a bird and cellphone video showed smoke filling the cabin. Southwest flight 3923 returned to José Martí International Airport after passengers reported the engine catching fire mid-flight. “Southwest flight #3923 departing Havana, Cuba, for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, …

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Flight Diverted After Passengers Vomit From Turbulence

The New York Post reports: A passenger aboard a rocky Southwest Airlines flight to North Carolina Friday passed out due to the turbulence — while others were left vomiting as the plane shook “like crazy.” The mayhem erupted when Flight 3094 from Maryland hit wild weather as it approached Raleigh-Durham International Airport Friday night. The rough landing was eventually aborted …

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Feds: Man Checked Explosives Onto Orlando Flight

CNN reports: Federal agents arrested a Pennsylvania man this week after he allegedly tried to bring explosives in his suitcase on a flight from Lehigh Valley International Airport to Florida. According to court documents, an alarm alerted that the baggage belonging to Marc Muffley contained explosives. TSA agents paged Muffley over the airport intercom system and asked him to report …

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