Another week has passed and we found quite a number of airport related news from around the world worth revisiting:
- Bali’s volcanic delays
- London’s fog is back
- Police standoff halts landings in San Diego
- Sydney’s lost baggage auction
It’s an on and off situation currently with Bali’s Mt Rinjani spewing ash into the flight paths of Bali bound aircraft. Just yesterday ABC News reported that Virgin Australia and Jetstar have cancelled their Saturday flights between Bali and Australia […]. It was more positive on Thursday when Sky News reported that Bali’s airport Ngurah Rai International (DPS) has reopened to the relief of stranded passengers, but authorities are closely watching the wind conditions that have blown volcanic ash into the busy flight path. In the same article a Brisbane traveller was asked what he would do after being delayed, he responded: ‘Play pool and have a few Bintangs.’ Not the worst plans, if you ask us.
Monday wasn’t a good day for the United Kingdom in terms of flight delays. That’s because Heathrow airport (LHR) said it had cancelled 122 flights, according to the BBC. London City (LCY) was closed to all flights for several hours, while other affected airports include Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Leeds Bradford and Cardiff. The reason? Fog over parts of England and Wales. The problems in the UK are being compounded by foggy conditions in much of western Europe, with major hubs such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol (AMS) also badly affected.
We also saw delays in San Diego this week, however, the reason was man made here. Literally. According to USA Today a standoff between San Diego police and a gunman who was firing rounds at officers Wednesday forced a halt to landings at San Diego International Airport (SAN), authorities said. Federal News Radio wrote further that the standoff lasted more than five hours. Titus Colbert, 33, walked out of the complex after tossing “multiple weapons” out an apartment window, San Diego Police said. The apartment building is under the airport’s approach path, and planes swoop low near the neighborhood before landing. Planes were allowed to depart from the airport, but many departures were affected because of the lack of incoming flights. In the end, about 30 arriving and departing flights were cancelled and another 30 or so were diverted to other airports, said a FAA spokesman.
Have you ever wondered what happens to all that unclaimed lost baggage a large airport must accumulate over time? Well, in the case of Sydney Airport (SYD) these things go under the hammer in a public auction. The Daily Telegraph wrote this week that designer clothes, a mini Mercedes Benz kids’ car and even an entire Canon 5D MkIII camera kit — worth upwards of $5000 — have been handed in by staff or other commuters, never to be claimed by their rightful owners. They are all set to go under the digital hammer next week in a series of online auctions through Pickles Auctions in Sydney, with proceeds going to a variety of local charities. The auction commences this coming Tuesday. Details including the list of items up for auction can be found here: www.pickles.com.au/general/promotions/-/content/lost-property
[Title Photo Credit of Mt Rinjani in pieceful times: w3i_yu via Compfight cc]