Airport Shuttle Services News, Airline Blog, Updated Airline and Airport News: 08/2011

Post office close to Tampa airport reopens after evacuation

3:18 PM

A post office just south of the Tampa International Airport terminal was reopened this afternoon to employees and the public after material inside a package, which cause two employees to become sick, was intent to not be hazardous, officials said.

Tampa Fire Rescue Captain. Lonnie Benniefield said, The first floor of the post office had been evacuate at around 11:20 a.m. after the employees became nauseous and reported being light headed. The employees in the second and third floors were set aside in place, Benniefield said.

A post office employee, identified as a 60-year-old man, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in stable condition, Benniefield said.

Firefighters got a sample of the substance and had it analyze. It was determined to have a minute level of hydrocarbon, which investigators found out wasn't hazardous, Benniefield said.

Two Airport Rescue and Firefighting units and the hazardous materials unit from Tampa Fire Rescue replied to the post office on Bessie Coleman Boulevard.

It took 90 minutes to examine and recognize the substance. No flights from TIA were affected, Benniefield said.

The best way to enjoy your vacation

11:24 PM

Charles dickens , 0 Comments

Vacation is something which makes us feel happy and excited. A vacation is complete only when we enjoy it with our family, friends and kids playing around.A vacation should be properly planned and organized in order to avoid last minute confusion or problems. You very well knew when your vacation starts, so it isbetter to plan prior for the fun ahead. Packing, sorting outthings needed for the tour as well deciding upon the number of people accompanying you is very much needed. Above all this booking a charter bus for the trip is very important. Both the vacation enjoyment and the expenditure go hand in hand and it’s always wise to plan a trip that is cost effective. Planning to go by flight or self driving is not considered wise as going flight is quite expensive and self driving is quite risky. So it is better to opt for a bus charters and avoid any last minute tension.

While hiring a bus charter it is very important to consider the following factors such as cost effectiveness, services provided by the particular bus charter and safety. The advantage of preferring a bus charter while on vacation is you can stop at sometime later and enjoy sightseeing or can take a quick lunch or breakfast with picturesque beauty around. Nowadays lot of bus charters are available providing you with good service and affordable rates. All you have to do is make an initial enquiry with the various bus charter services available and decide on the best you prefer. To be it on a safer side, do some research on the particular bus charters which you have preferred.

Make your vacation a memorable one with your loved ones and enjoy the ‘spirit’ of vacation by planning and organizing your vacation in a wise manner.

Call us for a charter bus, minibus, or shuttle van quote! Toll-free at 1-866-556-3545

Stunt man who was walking on Plane’s Wings goes wrong plunges to death

10:20 AM

Charles dickens , Posted in Airport , airport news , Airport Shuttle Services , Airport Shuttles , stuntman show , 0 Comments

Throughout a Michigan air show at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, aerial stuntman Todd Green was performing a “wing walking” stunt, in which he attempted to walk across an airplane’s wings and go into a helicopter that was riding alongside.

But something failed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base as around 75,000 people looked on.

Green was balancing on a wing of a airplane, trying to catch a helicopter's skid. The helicopter circled the airplane twice for Green to try to latch on, but he drop on the third try, witnesses said.

Moments after an announcer observed of the wind, Green fell from a wing when he was unable to grab onto the helicopter as part of a trick he had been doing for years.

The National Weather Service in White Lake Township aforesaid winds in the area around the time of the incident were westward at 24km/h. It was uncertain on Sunday if the wind was a factor the accident.

Green has been performing these types of aerial tricks for around 25 years, so he was experienced. But why wasn’t he wearing a parachute? Did it have something to do with his comparatively low altitude, and the fact that, from such a height, a parachute may not have done much? We don’t know. But we do know he leaves wife and two children.

The fall happens at 3:20. While it’s not shown in its whole, it’s still very scary and very sad.

AAI seeks 5,000 acres for new airport project in Chennai

7:55 AM

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Airports Authority of India (AAI) has informed to the state government of Tamil Nadu that it was ready to build a second airport for Chennai, located at Sriperumbudur, provided 5,000 acres of land was made available for the purpose.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has absolved the new airport project in its feasibleness study before.

The Airports Authority of India chairman VP Agrawal delivered ICAO's describe to chief secretary Debendranath Sarangi on Saturday. Agrawal said, "We have asked for 5,000 acres of land which will be required to construct the new airport. In the first stage, runways and other facilities will be constructed. Around Rs5,000 crore will be needed for the project".

The civil aviation ministry had earlier announced that the construction of the new airport would not be delivered to the private sector.

According to AAI sources, the government would now make a decision whether to construct a new airport or to construct a parallel runway at the existing airport.

With ability at the existing airport reaching saturation point, the AAI had at first suggested the construction of a parallel runway. However, it was realized that the cost of land acquisition would be prohibitively high.

So, new airport was advised and the previous DMK government identified land at Sriperumbudur for the new project. An AAI study set up the land suitable for the project.

The AAI has assured the state government that on-going expansion works at the existing airport would be accomplished as per the new schedule.

The new domestic terminal would be prepared by December this year while the international terminal would be commissioned by January 2012.

Bad weather makes Christchurch airport shutdown

11:33 AM

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Christchurch International Airport was closed by bad weather for the first time in nearly 20 years yesterday.

Although airlines oftentimes cancel flights due to inclement weather, including fog, the airport rarely shuts down.

Yesterday the airport closed for about four hours from 5am after 25 millimeters of snow blanketed runways, aprons and taxiways.

Christchurch airport chief executive Jim Boult

Airport chief executive Jim Boult said the temporary closing was one of the few in living memory", with the exception of the September and February earthquakes.

The previous weather-related closure had been throughout the snow dump in 1992.

The decision was driven by concerns for the safety of staff and the public in trying to access the airport when weather conditions had made roads in and around Christchurch so treacherous, he said.

A Singapore Airlines flight was the first in after the reopening about 9am, but other flights yesterday were at airlines' discretion.

Airport chief fire officer Peter Moore said his squad had worked for 24 hours in an attempt to keep the runway clear.

"One of our duty guys drove a loader all night, so the guys who had been there all day had a break overnight," he said.

Moore also worked during the 1992 snowstorm, which he said had been easier to clear. This week's snow had at times been demoralising, he said.

"We've had painters on squeegees, mechanics and firemen on loaders, and all sorts of people doing whatever they can. There have been no demarcation lines at all; every airport staff member had pitched in to hold the airport operating “Moore said.

Boult said four-wheel-drive vehicles had been used to introduce essential staff.

He said staff had "pulled out all the stops" to assist travelers.

Airport Tax improve Could Be Suspended, Says OSK

2:23 PM

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"While we do not know what the discourses centered on, negotiations on passenger service charges may have been on the agenda.

Hence, there is a high probability that the rate hike could be suspended," said OSK in its research report Friday.

It was reported that MAHB would raise the airport tax on international passengers by RM14 to RM65 for all airports. For the low cost terminal, tax on international passengers will be raised by RM7 to RM32.

However, even if the higher airport tax for international passengers from KLIA and Kota Kinabalu's terminal is implemented, the move will have no upside impact on revenue and earnings for MAHB.

This is as the advised RM14 increase to be collected from passengers under the new rates, is currently being subsidised by the government.

Hence, once the tax hike gets, MAHB will be collecting directly from the passengers.

However, the higher tax on international passengers departing from the low cost terminal and Kota Kinabalu airport could potentially lift profit by RM43 million to RM45 million per annum, or 11.3 percent in 2012 financial year.

This is assumptive that there will be no income sharing with the government.

OSK also said that although the quantum of raise is rather substantial at 27 per cent and 28 per cent for the international low cost terminal and non-low cost terminal passengers, it would not substantially cramp passenger growth.

Furthermore, Malaysia's airport taxes are considered comparatively lower than those charged by airports in Thailand and Indonesia, which are seeing strong development in air travel despite their lower per capita income.

U.S airlines roll back fares to pre-shutdown level

2:33 PM

Charles dickens , 0 Comments

U.S. airlines have began rolling back last month's fare increases, so passengers are likely to pay the same prices still though federal ticket taxes are being gathered again.

US Airways aforesaid it reduced fares late Monday, joining Southwest, AirTran, Delta, American, JetBlue, United, Continental and Frontier.

If that goes on consumers will pay the same total cost instead of seeing additions of around 10 percent on many tickets for travel within the U.S.

American Airlines and JetBlue Airways officials said they had lowered fares on some paths likely those where they contend with Southwest. Representatives for other airlines did not directly comment.

Most U.S. airlines raised fares last month after a draw between Republicans and Democrats in Congress on funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) caused federal excise taxes on tickets to expire. In effect, the airlines caught the money that previously went to the government alternatively of passing the tax break to consumers.

Last week Congress revitalized the taxes through Sept. 16. The challenge forced the FAA to furlough 4,000 employees and stop work on airport projects that employed thousands of construction workers.

Bad news for workers was good news for the airlines. By raising fares to offset the expired taxes, airlines were able to pocket an approximated $400 million in just two weeks.

Travel experts had anticipated that airlines would be forced to give up the fare hikes once the taxes were restored. They said travel demand is already slowing, and many consumers would balk at paying higher fares on top of taxes.

FAA Stops More than 250 Airport Projects in US Due to Congressional Inaction

9:46 AM

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The partial closedown of the Federal Aviation Administration has guided to stop-work orders on 258 airport construction projects all over the country, including several in Colorado, according to an FAA database.

Projects on the stop-work list include a $250,000 contract for Burton Construction at the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center involving a piping upgrade.

About 24,000 construction workers in an industry already hit hard by the recession have lost work or their jobs due to the projects suspension, says Brian Turmail, a spokesman for the Associated General Contractors of America. The trade group says the construction industry's unemployment rate was 16% in June when jobs totaled 5.5 million — 2.2 million less than the industry's all-time high in April 2006.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) headquarters

Some of these projects include:

Runway Status Lights: Over $250 million in contracts to design and install runway status lights at airports around the nation. These runway and taxiway lights help pilots know when it is safe to enter, cross or take off on a runway.

Air traffic tower earthquake protection: Nearly $20 million in construction and engineering contracts to make stronger air traffic towers in earthquake prone areas.

Weather Research: Over $14 million in projects to research NextGen weather technology systems for air traffic facilities and for aircraft cockpits.

The lights are slated for installation at the following airports:

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

New York LaGuardia Airport

Los Angeles International Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport

Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Washington-Dulles International Airport

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

Las Vegas McCarran International Airport

The halt of aviation development projects also threatens 46,000 other jobs in businesses related to construction and jeopardizes to cost the government more than $1 billion in revenue from uncollected airline ticket taxes if Congress doesn't solve the problem until lawmakers return to Washington in September.

President Barack Obama urged Congress to extend the FAA's operating authority. The standoff involves House Republicans efforts to change an airline labor rule to make it more difficult for employees to unionize and proposed cuts of $16.5 million in airline service subsidies to rural communities. Senate Democrats oppose both.

According to USA TODAY's analysis of stop-work orders issued by the FAA after Congress didn't re-authorize the agency July 23, 234 development and modernization projects have been halted, and 24 other projects have been partially stopped.

Aviation consultant Michael Boyd says the work stoppages could result in additional costs for the federal government.

"It's expensive to stop construction, and it can be expensive to re-schedule contractors, suppliers and sub-contractors," Boyd says.

The Air Transport Association of America, which represents U.S. airlines, says there's "an urgent need" for a long-term FAA re-authorization.

"The absence of re-authorization creates uncertainty for all sectors of the aviation industry," says Steve Lott, the group's spokesman.

The 10 Biggest FAA projects affected by the FAA funding dispute in Congress:

Contractor	Purpose	Value

Lockheed Martin*	Replacement of air traffic controller displays	$3.5 billion

ITT*	Systems engineering contracts for NextGen air traffic control system	$1.4 billion

General Dynamics*	Systems engineering contracts for NextGen air traffic control system	$1.2 billion

Metron Aviation*	Systems engineering contracts for NextGen air traffic control system	$1.1 billion

Lockheed Martin*	Continuation of computers in 20 air traffic control centers until replacement system is fully operational	$619 million

Sensis Corp*	Airport surface radar safety system to help prevent runway collisions	$390 million

TASC*	Support services for NextGen transition	$384 million

Jacobs Engineering	Architecture and engineering for High Altitude Air Traffic Control Centers	$370 million

Sensis Corp*	Runway lighting systems that help prevent collisions	$214 million

SAIC	Support contract for airport surface radar system	$104 million
* = Project partially stopped