Tom is the Founder and Chief Blogger of LateDeparture.com. He is a very keen traveller and (obviously) loves to explore airports around the globe. He also enjoys feedback on his posts, so don't be shy and write a comment!
It’s the second week of our newly created section and I always knew this would happen at some point: there’s that odd week where not much happens. But don’t worry, this wouldn’t be LateDeparture if we hadn’t something to write about in style!
The first true late departure of the week was when a rat (yes, you read that right) delayed an Alaskan Airlines flight in Seattle (IATA: SEA). The Associated Press went on reporting that
[…]the flight from Seattle to Denver had just pulled away from the gate Thursday morning when the little stowaway was spotted. The 737 jetliner returned to the terminal and passengers and crew boarded another plane about 90 minutes later. Airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan says the plane won’t be returned to service until maintenance workers make sure the rat didn’t damage equipment or chew any wires – and an exterminator certifies the plane is rodent-free.”
Well, if that wasn’t juicy news for you, I really don’t know!
On Monday US President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.7 trillion budget plan. Within the 10-year blueprint is also a juicy bit directly affecting US airports as according to some airport industry groups, Obama could cut $1 billion out of the government’s $3.5 billion fund for airport construction grants. So what does that mean for US airports?
Welcome to an entirely new section of LateDeparture! This little weekly review aims at giving you an overview of what happened in the world of airports over the past seven days; every week. Of course, in true LateDeparture fashion, I will specifically focus on airport developments and non-developments (read: delays). If, however, you’re after official on-time performance reports, you’re at the wrong spot. In that case you may want to try this site instead. Everyone else, please read on;-)
First of all, the harsh winter weather continued in many parts around the US and therefore added further delays across a number of US airports. Texas received a hit on Wednesday when more than 400 flights at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW) were cancelled as reported in the Wall Street Journal.
I’ve been in two minds over reviewing this airport. On one hand, Cairns is only the 7th busiest airport in Australia and can I highly doubt anyone outside of Australia can actually name 7 cities on this continent, or am I wrong? But then for comparison, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Dallas Houston [corrected; apologies for the mistake], Texas (IATA: IAH) is the US 7th busiest airport and I’d certainly wouldn’t hesitate writing about that one.
First the Super Bowl in Dallas and now the ATW Online Awards, what a week! Alright, in all fairness, I care as much about the Super Bowl as a child cares about a retirement fund. Put me aside, and it’s undoubtedly a massive event in the US. So what about the ATW Online Awards? Right. ATW stands for Air Transport World. According to their website, they “for nearly 47 years, Air Transport World […] has been the leading monthly magazine serving the needs of the global airline and commercial air transport manufacturing communities.” In this capacity they award the annual ATW’s Airline Industry Achievement Awards. The 37th award ceremony for this years winners is taking place tonight from 6pm local time in Washington, DC.
Check this out, my second most favourite airport in Asia, Hong Kong Airport (you can see my most recent video review of the magnificent airport here) has unveiled plans for an extension: Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) unveiled phase 1 of its midfield development project. The 73,000m² project includes the building of a new midfield concourse with 20 aircraft parking stands, a new cross-field taxiway and the extension of the existing automated people mover (APM) to the midfield concourse. Construction for the phase one development will start in the third quarter of 2011, with the completion expected by the end of 2015.
