Airports

This week: Spain’s ghost airport sold, pot on plane & more

What an exciting mix of airport news this week: from legal marijuana, auctioned airports to a new pet terminal – here are this weeks airport related news headlines in the overview:

We wrote about this airport a few times: Spain’s abandoned Ciudad Real airport (CQM). This week it sold at auction for €10,000. According to the BBC a group of international investors has won a bankruptcy auction for an abandoned airport in central Spain with a €10,000 offer – 100,000 times less than it cost to build. The investors were the only bidders for Ciudad Real airport, south of Madrid, completed during Spain’s boom years. But it is not clear if the sale will go ahead as another buyer could still step forward outside of the auction process. We at LateDeparture will stay on it!

Uber can be controversial, but this week Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) become the largest U.S. airport to allow Uber & Lyft pickups. According to the LA Times Los Angeles officials voted Thursday to allow ride services such as Uber and Lyft to pick up passengers at LAX, the largest U.S. city to grant full airport access to the rapidly growing app-based companies. The move could significantly alter the way thousands of Southern Californians and tourists navigate the nation’s third-busiest airport, long criticized for traffic congestion and lack of a direct connection to the region’s rail system. If the companies can quickly comply with the airport’s rules, Lyft and Uber services — some offering lower fares than taxis — could be available by September, officials said. In the same article business leaders and Uber and Lyft said Thursday’s action is a win for travellers. Airport officials noted that about 8% of passengers arrive by taxi, while about 6% arrive by Uber-type services.

We stay in the U.S. for our next story but move from 2 feet to 4: The New York Post wrote this week that a new terminal dedicated to shipping animals will feature spa-like amenities including massage therapy. While their owners are battling delays and huddling at luggage carousels, pets will be living large at The Ark, a 178,000-square-foot shelter and quarantine for jet-setting animals. The airport? New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) of course!

And to finish the week off this one: There’s one international airport that allows travellers legally to carry marijuana on board of some of its flights. What we’ve been smoking you’re asking? No, we’re dead serious. KPTV/Fox reported this week that travellers lining up at the security gates at Portland International Airport (PDX) will notice new signs about the airport’s stance on recreational marijuana. Oregon law says you can travel with a legal amount of marijuana, you just can’t take it out of the state. PDX is allowing travellers to board with the legal amount of marijuana on flights that take off and land within Oregon’s borders.

That’s all for this week – safe travels!

[Screenshot of Spain’s ghost airport via FlashEarth]