November 26th, 2007
Airport News - North America
DOT investigates air traffic control failures. The failure of air traffic control equipment at a Palmdale, Calif., facility this summer cost airlines hundreds of thousands of dollars. Airport officials and lawmakers are questioning whether systemic problems are to blame. The Department of Transportation’s inspector general is investigating the incidents, but technicians, controllers and FAA officials are divided on the nature and scale of the problems.
Staffing, maintenance added to ATC problems, technicians say. A change in maintenance philosophy caused several air traffic control problems this summer in Southern California, according to Federal Aviation Administration technicians. FAA officials say staffing and maintenance were not factors in the July outage in Palmdale and a subsequent problem at Los Angeles International Airport in which a critical landing system malfunctioned. Oct 14, 2006
Planners expect huge growth at small New England airports. By 2020, the number of people flying through New England’s 10 busiest airports will have increased 70%, federal aviation planners predict. They expect huge increases at three Connecticut airports rarely used now. Some politicians say the projections for Bedford and Worcester, Mass., and New Haven, Conn., are difficult to believe and add that the towns would oppose dramatic airport expansion.
Items abandoned at airports boost states’ revenue. Many items surrendered by travelers at airports are sold by state agencies at low prices. The sales generate $26,000 a year for New Hampshire. Officials say about 80% of the items collected by the Transportation Security Administration are cigarette lighters. Oct 10, 2006
Chicago
Train service will connect Chicago downtown to airports. By the end of 2008, Chicago officials will begin nonstop passenger train service from downtown to the city’s two main airports. The project, a partnership between the city and private organizations, will cost $280 million.
Chicago airport
Chicago airport embarks on $6.6B modernization project. Construction on a $6.6 billion modernization project has begun at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The project will include reconfiguring runways and adding an air traffic control tower, among other things.
Chicago Airports
Non-stop Rail Service Planned to Both Chicago Airports. By the end of 2008, travelers in Chicago will be able to ride on non-stop rail service from downtown to the city’s two main airports, USA Today reports. Oct 15, 2006
Dallas/Fort Worth
Wright deal won’t lower fares at D/FW, experts say. The newly approved Wright agreement won’t dramatically lower fares at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, experts say. American Airlines already offers nonstop flights to nearly every city from the airport. Southwest Airlines, which operates from Love Field, will have to connect passengers through cities such as St. Louis, Houston, or Albuquerque to reach other destinations.
Dallas/Fort Worth
Construction on Dallas taxiways about to start. Officials at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport say new perimeter taxiways will improve safety and allow more flights to take off and land. Taxiways are being considered at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport and at Denver International Airport. Chicago O’Hare also has plans to build a taxiway.
Dallas/Fort Worth
Airlines serving Dallas/Fort Worth will benefit from the airport’s deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp. to mine the natural gas produced on DFW’s 18,000 acres. The “monumental deal,” as DFW CEO Jeff Fegan characterized it, includes an initial payment of $185 million and a 25% royalty on the value of the gas. Fegan said nonaviation revenue will reach “new highs for the next couple of decades,” which will “help keep costs lower for airlines, making DFW a more attractive market, and create new airline competition.” Natural gas production is expected to begin within two years. Los Angeles
Baseball Player’s Jet Overshoots Runway. A private jet reportedly carrying New York Yankees baseball star player Alex Rodriguez overshot the runway at a Los Angeles area airport on Friday, just days after teammate Cory Lidle died in a small plane crash in New York.
New Orleans
Lack of flights prompts Microsoft to scrap New Orleans meetings. Microsoft has canceled three meetings set for next year in New Orleans because of the shortage of flights in and out of the city. Service at Louis Armstrong International Airport is now 61% of what it was before Hurricane Katrina struck the city in 2005. Some airlines are willing to fly larger planes or schedule more flights when needed, an airport spokeswoman says.
New York LaGuardia
Airports prepare for overhauls. A plan to tear down and rebuild LaGuardia Airport’s Central Terminal will be one of the most expensive and complicated airport projects in aviation history, the Wall Street Journal’s Scott McCartney writes. The $1 billion project is just one of several airport overhaul projects planned for the next few years in the U.S., he notes.