It’s been a devastating aviation week with the loss of Germanwings flight 4U9525 claiming 150 lives. Our thoughts are with all families and friends that have lost someone in this terrible tragedy. Aside from this worst-case news, we received the following airport headlines this week
- Singapore Airport once again named world’s best
- Does Barack Obama get his own airport?
- Power disruptions in Amsterdam
- Play Pac Man for a good cause in Sweden
It takes place once a year and the outcome is pretty much the same every time. We’re talking about the annual World Airport Awards run by consumer aviation website Skytrax. Business Insider reported this week that Skytrax has published its latest annual awards, and for the third consecutive year [LateDeparture told you], Singapore’s Changi International Airport (SIN) took the crown as the world’s best airport. It serves as one of Southeast Asia’s largest transit hubs and is a major cog in the city-state’s bustling economy. Runner-up went to (yes, you guessed it), Incheon International Airport (ICN) and 3rd place was awarded to Munich International Airport (MUC). Read the press release of the full results here.
Then we heard from the political magazine Politico in a piece of news-no-news that Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel, currently fighting for his political life in a heated run-off campaign, floated the idea Wednesday of naming an airport after the Windy City’s favorite son: President Barack Obama. O’Hare Airport (ORD) was named after a pilot from World War II, while Midway Airport (MDW) was named to commemorate the decisive naval battle of that conflict. However after Wednesday’s debate, Emanuel’s spokeswoman Quinn told the Chicago Tribune that the mayor has no plans to rename either airport. So, no news? We’ll have to wait and see!
Friday was a bit tough for the Netherland’s main airport when we heard via USA Today that flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (AMS) were snarled Friday morning after a power outage in and around the Dutch metropolis. According to the article the power outage hit around 9:15 a.m. local time, prompting Schiphol airport officials to warn of “severe disruptions” to flight schedules there. The power was out for about 90 minutes, with most flights canceled or diverted during that time.
And to finish our week off, some honourable news from Sweden. There two Swedish airports have installed popular arcade game machines in order to encourage travellers with some spare time and spare change to make a donation to a good cause. This Charity Arcade lets people play for the Red Cross, providing a fun new kind of charitable donation that rewards people who are willing to part with a few of their coins, reported PSFK. The two airports are Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport (ARN) and Göteborg Landvetter Airport (GOT).
That’s all for the week – safe travels!
[Photo Credit: Barack Obama via Compfight cc]