Airport News - North America.

Jul 23, 2007

Cigarette lighters to be allowed on planes. Federal aviation officials say they will drop a two-year ban on cigarette lighters, saying the rule is expensive to enforce and distracts security screeners from their search for bombs and bomb-making materials. The change will go into effect Aug. 4. Jul 20, 2007

Atlanta Hartsfield International

Officials at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport hope to select a contractor and have its Registered Traveler program up and running by this fall. Travelers will pay about $100 annually for the privilege of showing a special card indicating they have passed an intensive background check and then be processed through a designated security line. Jul 17, 2007

Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Ft. Lauderdale

A Delta jet that was involved in a near collision on an airport runway had already landed when controllers ordered it to take off again to avoid a United Airlines plane in its path, federal investigators said. The tower controller noted that the Airbus A320 was going too fast to hold short of 9L and told the ground controller to tell it to stop. The aircraft stopped on 9L 30 ft. from the runway centerline. The Delta flight that was touching down was ordered to do a go-around and became airborne, clearing the United jet by less than 100 ft., tower controllers reported. NTSB said that the United crew claimed they missed the turn on Taxiway B. US FAA classified the incident a pilot deviation. The wheels of Delta Airlines Flight 1489 had already touched down when an air traffic controller at Ft. Lauderdale runway warned the pilot to pull up. The pilot accelerated and was able to get back in the air, narrowly missing United Flight 1544. Pilot error by the United crew was the cause of the near collision, according to the FAA. Jul 19, 2007

HMSHost

HMSHost said it acquired "substantially all of the assets" of FoodBrand LLC from Mills Enterprises and Panda Express for approximately $13.3 million including liabilities. FoodBrand provides food and beverage concessions at shopping malls and airports including Washington Dulles and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International. Jul 16, 2007

Miami International

Urn Of Human Ashes Leads To Miami Airport Evacuation. A concourse at Miami International Airport was briefly evacuated on Monday after a luggage screener mistook an urn of human ashes and other suspicious items for a possible bomb, officials said. Around 2,000 people were ordered out of the airport's concourse F, but allowed back in when the all-clear was given after an hour and a half, said an airport spokesman. The false alert was partly triggered by what turned out to be a rectangular urn with human ashes, said Transport Security Administration spokeswoman Sari Koshetz. Jul 17, 2007

Miami International

A concourse at Miami International Airport was briefly evacuated on Monday after a luggage screener mistook an urn of human ashes and other suspicious items for a possible bomb, officials said. Jul 16, 2007

Star Alliance

Star Alliance has opened its first North America lounge at Los Angeles Tom Bradley International Airport. Located on the 5th floor, adjacent to the south-side security checkpoint, the 15,000sq ft (1,400sq m) Star Alliance lounge has a seating capacity of 264 for first and business class passengers, including VIP rooms. This new facility replaces 12 former airline lounges used by individual airlines. The lounge, Star Alliance's largest, and the biggest at the international terminal, was designed to serve the premium passengers of its member airlines flying out of Los Angeles. Passengers can choose to unwind in the lounge areas with food and drinks, take a shower or use the business centers in both the first and business class sections, which are equipped with free wireless Internet connections, telephones and fax/copy/scan/print machines. Unlike the majority of lounges in North America the new Star operation comes as a courtesy service for long haul passengers. In most lounges clients pay for drinks and snacks. Jul 20, 2007

Star Alliance

The Los Angeles facility is the third Star Alliance-branded lounge around the world; the other two are in Zurich (Switzerland) and Nagoya (Japan) respectively. Star Alliance is currently developing two other lounges at Heathrow Airport Terminal 1 and at Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 1, both slated to open in 2008. The lounge is open to Star Alliance gold members as well as first and business class passengers holding a ticket on any of the six resident alliance airlines operating from the international terminal: ANA, Asiana, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, SWISS and THAI. These six airlines offer 74 weekly international flights out of Los Angeles. Air New Zealand continues with its own facility at the airport. Jul 20, 2007

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International

US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a runway incursion involving United Airlines and Delta Air Lines jets that took place July 11 in Fort Lauderdale in which the aircraft came within less than 100 ft. vertically of each other. According to NTSB, the event occurred at about 2:30 p.m. The crew of UA Flight 1544, an A320, received taxi clearance from the terminal to Runway 9L via Taxiway T7. At the same time, DL 1489, a 757, was inbound from Atlanta for a landing on 9L. Jul 16, 2007

ZZ

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