This week must have been the calm before the Christmas storm as hardly any big airport stories surfaced. Don’t worry though, we found a few interesting ones nevertheless. Why? Because we know our loyal readers would appreciate it – plus, let’s be honest – there is always something going on if you look closely enough!
The biggest news this week was probably the winter storms that hit Northern Europe. It affected a number of airports, amongst them Sweden’s Arlanda Airport in Stockholm (ARL) that got hit at the worst possible time as, according to ABC News, Wednesday was the main arrival date for most of this year’s Nobel Prize laureates, who are scheduled to participate in days of activities before they pick up their prizes at an awards ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10. In the same article Klas Nilsson, a spokesman for airport operator Swedavia, said only one runway at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport remained open for departing flights — resulting in severe delays and multiple flight cancellations — and it would not be able to receive any arrivals until the snow-storm began to settle.
The same storm also caused severe disruptions in the United Kingdom. For example Stansted Airport north of London (STN) closed for about 3 hours on Wednesday morning as snow fell over parts of eastern and southern England, hitting the runways at 6am shortly before holiday flights were due to leave – reported the Guardian. The newspaper even published a video, worthwhile watching if long queues, snow trucks or angry passengers are your thing.
Better news reaches us from Germany this week when the Huffington Post reported that fun and festivities can be found at the Munich Airport (MUC) Center’s highly popular winter market. It’s in full swing for the holiday season with 50 outdoor market stalls, a large ice skating rink (skates are gratis) and Bavarian curling. The activities are located in the open (but covered space) between the two terminals. Don’t miss it if you’re around or try to sneak out if you have a layover at the airport. It’s surely worth it!
And finally we found a little jewel this week when the Telegraph reported about a phenomenal time-lapse video by photography and film professor Cy Kuckenbaker about San Diego International Airport’s (SAN) landing planes on 23rd November. You gotta see this one! The newspaper has since taken down the video, but YouTube still has it:
That’s all we have for this week – safe travels!
[Feature picture is a screenshot of the time-laps video by Cy Kuckenbaker]
I don’t know where that bridge is, but any fly knows that approaching San Diego from the east can be a fun ride, if one I well belted. It is a long, often hand-flown approach, only to crest the hill, dive for the runway and plant (perhaps plop?) the airplane with an obvious purpose. When the approach is not letter-perfect, go-arounds are common, as they should be. I’ve never seen it from the pointy end, but the ride in the back can be better than any entertainment park’s ride. Those are not ‘hard’ landings, but ‘landings with purpose,’ per the pilots familiar with San Diego. On the bright side, on that rare day when the approach weather at S.D. is below minimums, there are multiple other slabs available when flight safety becomes an issue. Most of them are military, the do not want commercial flights, but they will accept them if more distant, civilian diversion is not the best choice. I’ve ridden more than one San Diego-bound flight to a Navy or Marine airfield, only to sit for a few minutes and then circle around for a normal landing. Even on a normal flight, the approach to S.D. requires close attention and it is always a fun ride.