It’s been a turbulent week with plenty of airport related news. Earlier in the week we reported about the future of airport security, a topic that keeps being on top of travellers and airport managers minds alike, especially now with the approaching anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Then towards the end of the week the news headlines were dominated by hurricane Irene with severe implications for air travel.
This story is still developing, but The Wall Street Journal wrote late Saturday, Eastern Time that so far about 4,000 flights have been canceled through the weekend and continued that this number is expected to grow as airlines firm up their plans. The article then read that four of the New York area’s six main commercial airports were all closed to arrivals as of noon Saturday, with only Long Island MacArthur Airport (IATA: ISP), Westerchester County’s airport in New York state (IATA: HPN) and Teterboro in New Jersey (IATA: TEB) providing flying access.
Moving on to other US news: Earlier in the week the LA Times reported that a Burbank businessman was arrested over feeding of birds near an airport. The newspaper wrote that the 59-year-old has been feeding flocks of pigeons since at least September 2010 which — beyond violating municipal code — has created a major safety hazard for jet airplanes using the nearby Bob Hope Airport (IATA: BUR) as the birds’ numbers have grown into the hundreds.
Through a source at the reputable Kenyan based newspaper ‘ The EastAfrican’, we learnt this week that that Tanzania is refurbishing and upgrading 10 regional airports in a $67.5 million infrastructure project set to kick off before the end of 2011. According to the source Transport Minister Omari Nundu said the airports will be built in Kigoma and Tabora regions in the westy, Rukwa and Mbeya regions in the southern highland, Mafia district (Coastal), Msalato (Dodoma) Singida, Mwanza (Arusha) and Bukoba (Kagera).
And now – finally – to the beloved, odd news of the week: A social media expert was on a flight this week and just before it was about to take off, he wistfully and quite jokingly tweeted he would love it if his favourite restaurant would meet him with a steak dinner upon arrival. Well, you guessed it, they did. Someone from the steakhouse saw the tweet, organized everything and met the man on arrival at Newark Airport (IATA: EWR) with his favourite cut of meat. You can read the full story here.
With that have a great week, safe travels and a lot of patience if you have to fly through the East coast of the US!
[Picture from Wikipedia – some rights reserved]