Righty-o, here we go! It’s still a very young 2012 yet airport related news have already been pouring in left, right and center. And as so often, there was some good news (JFK), some bad (New Delhi) and some weird (Buenos Aires). Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.
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]