Airports, Americas, Asia, Europe, In the News, Weekly

This week: Rome’s airport chaos, private jet frenzy in Vegas & more

Let’s not mock around this week, here are our headlines:

The biggest airport related news this week probably came from Italy. There Business Insider reported that scores of flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers had their travel plans wrecked after a fierce fire devastated part of a terminal at Rome’s Fiumicino airport (FCO). According to the article the city’s main airport was closed to passengers for several hours after a blaze triggered by an electrical fault in a bar broke out in terminal three, which is used for international flights. When the airport reopened, there were scenes of total chaos with thousands of people trying to find out what was happening and frantic airport staff desperately attempting to deal with the backlog and match disorientated and frustrated passengers to seats on waiting planes. Alitalia, the airline which has the most flights to and from the airport, advised passengers they could switch to alternative flights up until Sunday or have the price of their tickets reimbursed.

Over in the United States a different news story caught our eyes this week. Remember the boxing fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao last Sunday? Yep, it took place in Las Vegas and was said to be the biggest fight of all times. Needless to say that heeps of celebrities flew in to watch it. What’s not known as much is the consequences for Las Vegas McCarran International airport (LAS). Sports Illustrated wrote that the parking area for private plans was apparently full on Saturday due to the influx of travellers in town for the fight. Liz Habib, a sports reporter, even tweeted a photo of the unbelievable scene:

Last week we reported about Nepal’s airport woes after the terrible earthquake. This week Fox News published another article considering the airport. It wrote that despite dire need by millions, earthquake-hit Nepal on Sunday was forced to close its only international airport to big airplanes flying in relief supplies and aid workers because the only runway can’t handle the strain of the stream of large aircraft flying in to help. In the article Birendra Shrestha, the manager of Tribhuwan International Airport (KTM), located on the outskirts of Kathmandu, was quoted saying bigger planes were banned because the runway was deteriorating. The runway was built to handle only medium-size jetliners and not the large military and cargo planes that have been flying to the airport since the magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck, he said.

And lastly – to finish the week off – a bit of gossip news from the United States: According to CNN the owner of a diamond-covered gold Cartier watch valued at more than $100,000 forgot the watch at a Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) security checkpoint on Tuesday. Luckily for the owner, a Japanese real estate entrepreneur, he’ll be getting it back. A Transportation Security Administration officer spotted the Cartier watch and recorded it with other items left by travellers that day, according to a TSA press release.

That’s all for this week – safe travels!

[Photo Credit: MassimoRoma via Compfight cc]