It’s been a rather uneventful week in airport news terms. But that, of course, doesn’t mean we can’t present you with some interesting and some juicy aviation stories this week! First of all, the spotlight is put on a nation that’s not regularly in the news and most certainly not with aviation stories: Mongolia. This week Passenger Terminal Today revealed hat the landlocked nation has agreed with the government of Japan on a US$270 million soft loan, repayable over 40 years, to build a new airport to service Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar. The city’s current airport, Chinggis Khaan International Airport (IATA: ULN; pictured) suffers from occasional high winds and has a relatively short runway unsuitable for 747s and larger aircraft.
Then there was the odd news of the week when The Australian reported on Monday about a mile-high flirting episode that went horribly wrong: A US man who tried to flirt with a young woman on board a plane by bragging he was carrying enough poisonous gas to knock out the entire aircraft found himself arrested and banned for life from Delta Air Lines. The quick-thinking woman then pretended she needed the bathroom and managed to alert a flight attendant upon which the flight was diverted to Memphis (IATA: MEM), where the man was arrested by officers who boarded the plane.
Luckily most romances are not that one sided and don’t end behind bars. For one couple this week a US airport even became the beginning to their new, shared life, as reported by ABC News. A US soldier returning from Iraq proposed to his girlfriend in Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IATA: IAH), with a little help from his fellow airline passengers. According to the article each passenger brought a single rose to Army Lt. George Dalton’s girlfriend, Lauren Raabe, while she was waiting in the baggage claim area for him. Finally, as Raabe struggled to hold the growing bouquet, Dalton came from behind a small group of revelers accompanying the group and greeted his girlfriend with a kiss and got down on one knee.
Well, if this isn’t a fairy tale end to this week! Have a great start into the new one and safe travels!
[Photo from Wikipedia – some rights reserved]
