USA Today reported this week that a fire erupted in the cargo section of New Delhi’s international airport (IATA: DEL), but luckily there were no reports of injuries or deaths. According to the news article the fire, however, destroyed cargo awaiting clearance and gutted the offices of some airlines.

A few thousand kilometers Southeast of India, in Singapore, Changi Airport (IATA: SIN) was said to revamp its two-hour free bus tour of Singapore. The Strait Times wrote that the Changi Airport Group wants to refresh itineraries for the current two options – the Colonial Tour, which showcases the Singapore River and the civic district, and the Cultural Tour, which highlights Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam. The refreshed tour is said to become available from April.

Over in the United States it was all good news when NJ.com wrote that JFK International Airport (IATA: JFK) is to take part in a quicker screening process. According to the article some passengers flying out of John F. Kennedy International Airport will soon be able to keep their shoes and belts on during screening, leave their laptops in their cases and even carry a full bottle of shampoo onto the plane. It was also said that the reprieve from those post-9/11 security measures will take effect sometime early this year when JFK becomes the region’s first airport to take part in a voluntary program to speed the screening process. We bet our New York bound travellers can’t wait for this to happen soon enough, right?

Moving on to something different: Well, you surely agree with us that birthdays in the small days of January aren’t exactly popular with the oh-so-hung-over-from-new-years-eve crowd, yet in the case of Abu Dhabi Airport (IATA: AUH), we make an exception and cheer loudly to the 30th birthday it celebrated on 4th January. Hip Hip Hurray!

To finish off the first airport news of the year, we want to leave you with not just one, but two of our famous, weird airport stories. First of all, there was this awesome little piece from 11alive.com that showed us some great examples of weird things people try to take through airport security. You’ll discover land mines, flares and improvised explosive devices to name just three.

And finally, on the same topic of smuggling stuff through security, there was this from Argentina: According to the CBS News a man tried to board a plane at Buenos Aires’ international airport (IATA: BUE) with almost 247 (nope, this isn’t a typo, two-four-seven!) poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles in his baggage. What was he thinking, we wonder?

That’s all for now – we wish you a great start into 2012 and, as always, travel safely! One more thing, make sure you visit us early next week as we’ll be launching something very exciting. You can even win some awesome prizes, so stay tuned!

[Photo from Flickr - Some rights reserved by Lars Plougmann]

Righty, let’s get this week’s biggest news out of the way: On Tuesday American Airlines filed for reorganization under the United States bankruptcy chapter 11. In an email to it’s frequent flyers the airline wrote the following: “We took this action as part of our efforts to secure our long-term success in delivering the highest standards in air travel. We are committed to meeting your travel needs with outstanding customer service and safety, and it will be business as usual at American throughout our reorganization process. More than 80,000 people at American appreciate your loyalty and look forward to continuing to serve you.” It yet remains to be seen what impact this action has for many of AA’s frequented airports and in particular for its largest hub, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW).

The second big topic of the week was the public sector strike in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. Many news sites (including LateDeparture) drew gloomy pictures of what would happen to the country’s largest airport, London Heathrow (IATA: LHR) that day. Towards the end of that day, the Financial Times, however, reported that fears of long delays [...] proved unfounded [...] as passengers reported that border controls were operating faster than usual. According to the article a combination of higher than anticipated levels of UK Border Agency staffing and lower passenger numbers meant that queues at passport checkpoints were often small.

Back to the States where we received news from PassengerTerminalToday that San Francisco International Airport (IATA: SFO) has become the country’s first airport to receive a “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) Gold certification for its new 64,000 ft2 Terminal 2. The city’s Mayor Edwin Lee said “this is yet another remarkable reminder that San Francisco is leading the way as we welcome visitors to our city in one of the greenest airports in the world.”

Then over to Singapore where our favourite Changi airport (IATA: SIN) made it into the news twice this week. First up was a report in the Manila Standard quoting that six Singaporean airport experts from Changi Airport have arrived to inspect Terminal 1 of the Manila international airport (IATA: MNL) and to identify the areas and facilities that need improvement. The airport is in desperate need of improvement after it was voted the world’s worst airport in October (we wrote about it).

The second news story about Changi then was more home made as the airport revealed its Christmas decorations. According to the airport’s press release, giant topiaries in the form of iconic world landmarks are now on display in both the public and transit areas of Terminals 2 and 3. The topiaries, which stand up to nine metres tall, include the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, Temple of Heaven, and Singapore’s very own famous Merlion. At the biggest topiary display site at the Terminal 3 Departure Hall, where the Merlion topiary is located, quaint miniature figurines of the Statue of Liberty, Taj Mahal, the Pyramids of Egypt and other famous world landmarks complete the travel road map around the world. More information can be found on the airport’s Christmas website.

To finish off, we want to leave you with a story from Baltimore, USA. There Reuters reported that a woman gave birth in a restroom at the 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. located Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (IATA: BWI) after arriving on a flight. Quoting an airport spokesperson, the article continued saying that police and emergency medical personnel were called to the restroom and a Maryland Transportation Authority police officer assisted at the birth. The woman and the baby were transported to the Baltimore-Washington Medical Center and are in good condition, a hospital spokesman said.

Have a great week everyone!

[Picture from Flickr - Some rights reserved by loop_oh]

With the US Thanksgiving long-weekend only days away, headlines about airports preparing frantically for a storm of passengers keep increasing on a daily basis. One particular airport caught our attention though: Los Angeles International (IATA: LAX). The Los Angeles Times wrote that shortages of customs and immigration agents have been causing significant delays for thousands of travelers, forcing them to wait on their planes or stand in line for up to three hours before being processed.

Over in Singapore, Changi Airport (IATA: SIN) makes it into the LateDeparture headlines for a second time this week. The first time was when we wrote about their noble efforts of teaming up with Singapore Polytech to provide a real-world experience for students through SPELL, a retail store wholly run by students (read the full story here). The second time isn’t quite so rosy. The Sydney Morning Herald wrote about a Hong Kong Airlines Airbus 330 flight carrying 159 passengers that had been delayed in Singapore for almost nine hours due to a technical fault and a fracas between two groups of passengers which left an old Chinese women with an injured hand. The story continued when the furious Chinese passengers refused to leave the same plane at Hong Kong airport (IATA: HKG) for several hours until they were paid compensation for flight delays. Accused with mishandling the situation in Singapore, Changi Airport responded with an official statement saying “while the passengers were awaiting updates from the airline on their flight arrangements, Changi Airport worked with the airline’s ground handling agent, SATS, to facilitate meal arrangements for the affected passengers. Customer service agents were also deployed to provide assistance such as distributing mineral water to passengers and assisting them in checking on alternative flights to Hong Kong. Airport police officers were also present to assist with crowd control.”

Over in Australia Boeing made some dream headlines this week when its new 787 Dreamliner visited Sydney and Melbourne for the very first time ever. LateDeparture was lucky enough to witness the landing in Melbourne – watch the video on YouTube.

Crossing back to the Northern Hemisphere, in the United Kingdom Passenger Terminal Today wrote that the new-look North Terminal at Gatwick Airport (IATA: LGW) was officially opened by former Prime Minister John Major following the completion of the £73 million (US$115.5 million) project to extend the building to accommodate 20 million passengers per year by 2020.

And finally we finish with a bit of technology news coming from Russia. According to the Wall Street Journal Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport  (IATA: SVO) will launch a service it says will be the first in the world — video flight check-in via Skype. The airport forecasts that between 15% and 20% of all the passengers will be using the Internet-based video phone service.

Have a great week everyone and remember to follow us on Twitter for all the latest up-to-date stories during the week.

[Photo from Flickr - Some rights reserved by cobalt123]

SPELL was created in line with SP’s mission to allow their students to put entrepreneurial thinking into practice through authentic learning. This is also the first time that Changi Airport is partnering with an educational institution in setting up a retail business at the airport. In its initial press release, Changi’s Vice President for Landside Concessions, Ms Hung Jean said, “In addition to the aviation galleries at Changi Airport and visits we host for schools, this is part of our effort to contribute to the learning of students in Singapore.”

The most beautiful thing about SPELL is the combined effort of 100 students across various disciplines, including business administration, communications, accountancy and electrical engineering. The students are wholly responsible for the operations of the 54 sqm outlet – from product sourcing and determining the retail mix, to preparing to get the store up and running, and sustaining its business in the long run. Retailing a wide range of street wear including fashion apparel and accessories, the product offerings are targeted at teenagers and young adults, and priced affordably from $7 for a small leather purse to about $99 for a jacket.

Besides tapping on the talented student population, SPELL is also collaborating with industry partners, such as Motorola, to enhance the customer’s overall retail experience through the use of technology. With Motorola’s Magic Mirror, customers will be able to see how they look like in SPELL’s clothes without having to physically try them on.

If you are at Changi airport, make sure you drop in to the SPELL store and check it out for yourself. You can find it in the landside basement level of terminal 3 (#B2-52/53, opening hours: 10 am – 11 pm
, Tel: (65) 62143858, info@spellverve.com, www.spellverve.com).

According to the airport, in 2010, 4.5 million boxes were sold – more than one box per resident in Singapore. Most purchases were made by Americans, followed by Indians, Japanese and Indonesians. Traditional Asian gifts, such as Tiger Balm, Nonya dumplings and Kueh Lapis cakes also proved popular. See the infographic below for additional details (click for full size picture):

Passengers and visitors to Changi Airport were greeted by aerialists perched on four-metre high poles performing to the beat of classical music (see YouTube video here). The performance was part of a promotion where shoppers can head down to Changi Airport over the next weekends (23 July – 14 August) to have the bar code on their ‘Changi Millionaire’ shopping bags scanned for a chance to win one of 10 iPad 2!

[Photo by Changi Airport, all rights reserved]

Other category winners were Vancouver International Airport (IATA: YVR) for best North American airport, Peru’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (IATA: LIM) for best South American airport and Auckland International Airport (IATA: AKL) for best in the Australia/Pacific region. Unfortunately Europe was split up into 5 subcategories making almost every airport a winner (Munich, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Barcelona and Moscow won). Overall, awards were given in 50 different categories including everything from the headline winner to categories like most improved airport (Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, SHA), best worldwide airport hotel (Regal Airport Hotel, Hong Kong) or best airport for baggage delivery (Zurich Airport, ZRH).

The awards are based on the World Airport Survey which was established in 1999, and is held in high esteem for the clarity of process and rigorously applied rules of total independence. After the phenomenal success of the first ever live World Airport Awards ceremony held at the Passenger Terminal Expo 2010 in Brussels, Skytrax again hosted its awards live at the Passenger Terminal Expo 2011, which this year is taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The full list of winners can be seen at the organizer’s website.

[Photo edited from Wikipedia photo and Skytrax Award logo, some rights reserved)

Wednesday seemed anyway to have been the “black” day of US aviation last week as there was another massive incident that day: At Washington’s Reagan National Airport (IATA: DCA) an air traffic supervisor dozed off in the control tower early Wednesday, forcing passenger plane pilots to land on their own. He was drug-tested by federal authorities before being suspended from his job, federal officials said to the Washington Post. On Friday the same newspaper wrote that the incident triggered the FAA to revise U.S. air traffic control rules. “Effective immediately, we are instituting an interim plan to ensure we do not repeat another situation like the one at Reagan National Airport Wednesday morning,” Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt said in the article.

On Tuesday it was reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (IATA: ATL) say they’ve foiled a destructive beetle from entering the country, where it could have done massive damage to crops. The khapra beetle was found in the luggage of two passengers arriving from India.

And finally, Saturday saw the fourth installation of Earth Hour, a global event organized by WWF asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Many of the world’s airports also participated by shutting down non-essential lights. Google news lists London Luton (IATA: LTN), Singapore Changi (IATA: SIN), Stockholm Skavsta (IATA: NYO), Budapest (IATA: BUD) and Abu Dhabi airport (IATA: AUH) among others to have participated.

[Photo from Flickr - Some rights reserved by MNicoleM]

10. Virgin Atlantic passengers stuck on tarmarc in Connecticut
Hundreds of travelers parked in a diverted Virgin Atlantic plane en route from London to Newark spent a hot, dark and miserable four-hour stretch on the tarmac at Bradley International Airport outside Hartford, Connecticut (IATA: BDL). The incident attracted significant media attention, and highlighted how the recently-implemented Airline Passengers Bill of Rights does not extend to international flights.
(AP photo/Journal Inquirer, Jim Michaud)

9. New Airport for Delhi
On the 3rd July, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opened a terminal that will double capacity at New Delhi airport (IATA: DEL) and ease travel into the world’s second-most populous country.
(Photo from Wikipedia)

8. 60 human heads discovered at Arkansas airport
In June the Telegraph wrote that employees at Southwest Airlines discovered the clumsily duct-taped containers of heads last week at Little Rock airport in Arkansas, USA (IATA: LIT). Apparently the heads were being shipped to Medtronic Inc in Fort Worth, Texas, where they would be used by neurosurgeons to study ear, nose and throat procedures. Errr, no further questions.
(Photo: ALAMY/Telegraph)

7. Fans miss World Cup semi final
South Africa was the host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup and despite multiple rumours about incomplete stadiums, everything was in place for the world’s biggest sporting event. Everything? Not quite: due to VIP jets blocking Durban’s new King Shaka International Airport (IATA: DUR) hundreds of fans missed the game Germany vs Spain.
(Photo from Flickr, some rights reserved)

6. Air Traffic control strike disrupts travel in France
Coincidentally with the start of the summer holdiay period, French Air Traffic controllers decided to, well, you guessed it, strike! This led to cancellations and delays in France and other European destinations. Read more about this on CNN.
(Photo by Flickr – some rights reserved)

5. Air India Express Crash in Mangalore
Sadly in May, Mangalore, a Southwestern Indian coastal town in the state of Karnataka came into the world’s news headlines when an Air India plane crashed after overshooting the runway at Mangalore Airport (IATA: IXE). After the crash voices erupted and asked whether the airport is safe and fits international standards.
(Photo by Flickr – some rights reserved)

4. Qantas A380 engine blow-up
At the end of May Singapore Airlines added a fun slide to it’s already great terminal 3, making headlines on LateDeparture. On 4th November then, the airport came into the global news for a different reason: that day the engine of a A380 Qantas plane blow-up after departure from Singapore airport (IATA: SIN) where the damaged aircraft returned to for an emergency landing. Check this blog for a very (and I mean very!) detailed description of the damages and what happened.
(Photo by Flickr – some rights reserved)

3. International terror alert in October
The Guardian reported that East Midlands airport (IATA: EMA), Britain’s largest air freight terminal was sealed off after investigators found a package containing a toner cartridge on a United Parcel Service plane from Yemen to Chicago. Federal Express later said a second suspicious package had been found in Dubai on a plane originating in Yemen. FedEx and UPS subsequently suspended cargo flights from Yemen. “Toner and ink cartridges above 450 grams were completely banned from passenger flights travelling to the US, not just coming from Yemen, but coming from anywhere at all”, wrote the Sydney Morning Herald.
(Photo by Flickr – some rights reserved)

2. Volcanic ash cloud in April and May
Now infamous and unpronounceable Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in April and consequently shutting a large part of the European airspace for days. The UK was hit the hardest with the airspace closed for a grueling 9 days in April and two more in May. Irish airline Ryanair alone cancelled almost 10,000 flights over the period. Many people are still waiting for compensation, writes the Mail.
(Photo by Flickr – some rights reserved)

1. TSA Full Body Scanner Mess
In November 2001 airport security in US airports was made the responsibility of a new Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In addition to existing hassles, such as not allowing carrying liquids in quantities greater than 3.4oz (100ml) or removing of the traveller’s shoes, fresh measures were introduced with the widespread roll-out of full-body scanners (LateDeparture first reported sight of these machines in 2008). The Economist (among hundreds of other media) writes, that since the measures were introduced there has been no shortage of horror stories—a breast-cancer survivor had to take off her prosthetic breast, a bladder-cancer survivor’s urine bag burst during one aggressive inspection and a shirtless young boy received a pat-down. What a mess!

That’s it. I hope you liked it. As always, feel free to comment and write us your own, personal airport stories of 2010. But now, on behalf of LateDeparture, I would like to thank all loyal readers, advertisers (yes, you may contact us too if you like to discuss an ad deal), friends and last but certainly not least my partner for their support of LateDeparture in 2010. You guys rock! See and read you again in 2011!

With that, I’m sure many travellers don’t particularly look forward to their actual flight in December as it often means long queues at check-ins (not to speak of any extra annoyances like the body scanners in the US), delays due to heavy weather (fog, snow) or any other unpleasantries you can think of (I can, for example, think of strikes).

But there’s a silver lining on the horizon as a few airports are thinking further and extended the Xmas themed atmosphere to their departure and transit areas. It’s no big surprise then that Singapore’s Changi airport is (again, remember that fun slide?) at the forefront of it all and installed an entire “Christmas Fantasy Experience” at their flagship terminal 3:

This festive season, celebrate a truly magical Christmas at Singapore Changi Airport with a string of fun-filled activities for the entire family! Themed Changi Christmas Fantasy, passengers and airport visitors can expect a host of festive activities with a magical twist. From fanciful festive décor, fabulous giveaways, song and dance performances to exciting activities for children and shopping offers, holiday makers arriving at Changi and families visiting the airport will find that Changi Airport is the place to be!

You can read the full details on their website.

So with all that, relax, try to fly through Singapore airport and make sure you read our articles about what you can do in that hopefully rare case your flight is delayed. Oh, one last thing: don’t bring those Christmas Crackers in your carry-on luggage (see photo – by Flickr – some rights reserved).