Airport News.

Companies will sell Registered Traveler pass at up to 20 airports. The Transportation Security Administration will allow companies to sell Registered Traveler passes at up to 20 airports by the end of 2006. Travelers will use the passes at all airports offering the program.

Apr 21, 2006

Screener shortage could cause long lines. Some airports are short on security screeners, raising fears of long lines this summer, The Wall Street Journal's Scott McCartney writes. A shift to local hiring from a national contract is causing the shortage, he writes. Apr 18, 2006

NAV Canada boosts terminal charge for smaller jets; big ones will save. Canada's air navigation services provider, NAV Canada, said it will reduce the weight factor used in calculating its terminal services charge from 0.9 to 0.85 beginning May 1. Apr 14, 2006

Europe's top airports need independent regulation, IATA chief says. European airports continue to increase costs for airlines even as the carriers work to lower expenses, International Air Transport Association Chief Executive Giovanni Bisignani said. He supports "robust independent national regulation" of European airports that serve over five million passengers annually. IATA calls for 'robust' regulators to take bite out of rising airport charges. Large European airports are out-of-control monopolies and need to be regulated by newly created national authorities "with teeth," IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said Friday at a meeting between the European Commission and 11 aviation organizations to discuss airport policy. In a direct appeal to Jacques Barrot, EC VP responsible for transport and energy, Bisignani said that since 2001, "Europe's airlines have achieved a 9% reduction in aircraft operating costs, a 24% reduction in distribution and back office costs and a 14% increase in pilot productivity. Airports, on the other hand, gave the airlines a 13% increase in per-passenger costs with a total bill for airlines and their users of $14.5 billion" over the same period. Apr 10, 2006

altimore-Washington airport

Maryland officials study possible Metro to BWI. Maryland officials and planners are considering extending the Metrorail to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Some lawmakers think the Metro must connect to BWI for the airport to remain competitive. Apr 10, 2006

American Airlines, Boston Logan

American plans improvements at Boston Logan. American Airlines says it will improve its facilities at Boston Logan airport. The airline will increase its concession space, add check-in kiosks, and combine American Airlines and American Eagle check-in facilities. Apr 21, 2006

Avient Solutions

Avient Solutions said its Avient Gate Agent entered operation at London Heathrow and is used by British Airways, SAS, Virgin Atlantic Airways and United Airlines. Gate Agent is part of Avient's Passenger Management solution that includes FIDS and Check-in Agent. Apr 11, 2006

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Bangkok's futuristic Suvarnabhumi Airport is still a long way from opening, although the first official (for that read political) flight took place last September. A source at the Transport Ministry said the new airport could not meet the July opening schedule because many construction jobs were late, which held up operational tests. Corruption and mismanagement are being stated as the largest cause of delay for a project that is seriously late. The joint venture led by Italian-Thai Development Plc claims that changes to specifications are the main impediment to the operational opening. A target of 30m passengers per year was published but it seems that the government has pushed this up to 45m. The July target opening is unlikely to be met. http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com Apr 16, 2006

Boston Logan

Boston won't dispute New Hampshire airport's name change. Boston's Logan International Airport will not fight Manchester Airport's move to change its name to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. The Manchester airport is in New Hampshire and is 60 miles from Boston. "We're pleased people are so anxious to affiliate themselves with Boston," said Craig Coy, chief executive of the Massachusetts Port Authority. Apr 20, 2006

Chicago Midway Airport

Concrete beds could prevent accidents at Midway. Chicago should install crushable concrete beds at the ends of the runways to prevent accidents, the Chicago Tribune editorial board writes. Fourteen U.S. airports have installed the beds, including JFK International Airport in New York where the beds have prevented airplane overruns. Apr 10, 2006

Cincinnati airport

Board approves Registered Traveler program at Cincinnati airport. The Kenton County Airport Board approved a contract for a Registered Traveler program at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The contract is with Verified Identity Pass. Apr 18, 2006

Dallas Love Field 

Group supports phasing out commercial flights at Love Field. A business travel group recommends closing Dallas Love Field to commercial traffic, a move that would protect the economic benefits of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The Business Travel Coalition suggests Southwest Airlines, which operates a hub at Love, move to D/FW. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines wants the 1979 Wright law lifted so it can serve its nationwide network from Love. Apr 10, 2006

Dallas/Fort Worth Airport

Big airports decline to sign up for Registered Traveler. At least six of the busiest airports in the U.S. have declined to sign up for the Registered Traveler program. The lack of support could threaten the program. "We have yet to see anybody lay out in definitive terms something that is viable," said Jim Crites, executive vice president of operations at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Apr 19, 2006

Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport is to gain a second main runway over the coming years, plans put forward by the airport authority approved last week by the local council. The new runway will have a paved length of 3,110 m. and will be built 1.6 km. to the north and parallel to the present main runway, 10/28, which has a length of 2,637m. With the new runway airlines should be able to offer far more distant overseas destinations. It will also replace an existing runway, 11/29 not suitable for large, heavy aircraft. Dublin's third runway, 16/34, is a crosswind strip and measures 2,072m in length. http://www.dublin-airport.com Apr 16, 2006

Dublin Airport

New runway approved at Dublin. Construction of a second main runway at Dublin Airport was approved by the Fingal County Council Planning Dept. earlier this week. Apr 14, 2006

Ferrovial

Ferrovial had until April 24 to finalize its bid per a ruling by the UK Takeover Panel and decided the time was right after recruiting Macquarie Bank as an adviser. "We have made good progress over the last three weeks with our bid preparations and in our conversations with BAA's stakeholders. Having now completed and signed our financing, we have decided to announce a firm offer," Chairman Rafael del Pino said. "Whilst this bid is being made unilaterally, we do not regard it as hostile. We remain keen to engage in a dialogue with the BAA Board with a view to securing a recommendation for the Consortium's offers." Apr 10, 2006

General Electric

General Electric set to move into airport development. General Electric plans to expand into airport development. The company's infrastructure business may provide power generation to support airport acquisitions in emerging markets. Apr 14, 2006

Irish Aviation

Irish Aviation Authority, LFV Group (Sweden) and Naviair (Denmark) signed a contract with Thales ATM marking "the initiation of a purchasing agreement known as COOPANS." Each of the air navigation service providers previously procured under separate contracts Thales' Eurocat ATM System. Under the COOPANS agreement, the ANSPs jointly will procure upgrades to their existing common ATM systems. Apr 11, 2006

Leeds Bradford Airport

Mobile Phones are getting more and more sophisticated. A new service at Leeds Bradford Airport will provide real-time flight information to passengers. Developed by the airport and local companies ITG Digital Marketing and AdGroup txt4flights is a new service enabling passengers to receive detailed departure and arrival information, such as which check-in desk or gate to go to, boarding and latest arrival times. Users of the service simply text their flight number to 60070 to receive alerts direct to their mobile. The cost is [pounds sterling]1 for up to 9 update messages. This is a piece of innovation that could just catch on. Users can register for the service online. http://www.txt4flights.com Apr 23, 2006

London BAA

Takeover pressure on BAA mounts as new bidder emerges. BAA confirmed Sunday that it received and rejected a "preliminary highly conditional and confidential approach" last month from a consortium led by Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Group making a cash offer at 870 pence per share, valuing the UK-based airports operator at [pounds sterling]9.4 billion ($16.46 billion). Apr 18, 2006

London BAA

BAA'S UK airports handled 144.6m in the financial year ended 31 March, a 2% increase over 2004/5. Over the year, Southampton achieved an increase of 20.1% to 1.9m. Gatwick too had its best year on record, with 32.8m passengers passing through the airport, up 2.6 % on last year. At Stansted the massive growth of recent times slowed down with the numbers now up to 22.2m, still a healthy 5.5% growth. The fallout from the London bombings in July and the Gate Gourmet dispute in late summer both had an effect on Heathrow's passenger numbers for the year, actually falling, to 67.4m, a tiny amount in percentage terms. The three London airports totaled 122.5m, twice that of any other international gateway. http://www.baa.co.uk Apr 16, 2006

London BAA

London[sup.1]s BAA once again rejected a takeover bid by Grupo Ferrovial. The Spanish construction and services conglomerate, along with a consortium including Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and GIC Special Investments, offered on Friday the same 810 pence per share that BAA rejected last month. The "hostile" offer valued BAA at [pounds sterling]8.75 billion ($15.3 billion). BAA, whose stock closed at 847 pence per share on Friday, was quick to recommend that its shareholders turn down the bid as "not beginning to reflect the true value of BAA's unique portfolio of strategic airport assets." Chairman Marcus Agius said, "We have already made our position on this offer crystal clear." Apr 10, 2006

London Heathrow

London[sup.1]s Heathrow passengers from the west and also connecting with First Great Western rail service, will be pleased to learn that the first part of a major upgrade to Hayes and Harlington station has been completed, a [pounds sterling]1m footbridge providing much better access to the Heathrow Connect services. This rail link into the central area station currently operates every 30 minutes on the Heathrow Express track at a cost of [pounds sterling]6 single. There are parking facilities for 70 cars. Our photo shows a Manisha Koirala look-a-like cuts the ribbon to open the new Hayes & Harlington footbridge with Brian Raven managing director of Heathrow Connect and Alison Forster managing director of First Great Western. http://www.heathrowconnect.com Apr 16, 2006

Los Angeles airport

LAX wants to improve its image with travelers. Los Angeles hopes a new campaign will improve the image of its major airport. The city will landscape the airport, install new signs and spend $6 million a year to update terminals. Apr 10, 2006

Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport

Commission delays Minneapolis-St. Paul expansion. The Metropolitan Airports Commission delayed the expansion of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for the second time on Monday. Officials say there is a good chance the project will proceed because eventually the airport will need more gates. Apr 19, 2006

Minnesota aviation

Minnesota aviation trust fund wants money returned. The Minnesota Council of Airports wants $15 million restored that the Legislature took from the aviation trust fund to help pay for a budget deficit in 2003. The revenue supports the Office of Aeronautics in the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and pays for airport lighting, pavement rehabilitation, equipment and other projects. The governor included it in his budget, but the Legislature did not, according to Glenn Burke, chairman of the Minnesota Council of Airports and manager of the South St. Paul Airport. Apr 20, 2006

Munich Airport

Munich Airport claimed that IATA used partial and misleading data to buttress its claim that Munich is among Europe's costliest airports in its call for tougher regulation of airport charges issued Friday. MUC did not dispute that passenger fees rose 26% between 2001 and 2004, as stated by IATA; however, "aircraft landing fees based on aircraft weight and type decreased by 17% during the same period, [the] result of a new landing fee pricing structure requested by airlines serving Munich Airport." Using the example of a 737-300 carrying 104 passengers and weighing 63 tonnes flying within the EU, MUC said that "total passenger and aircraft landing fees...only increased 5.7% between 2001 and 2004," or an average annual rate of 1.9%. Apr 11, 2006

Orlando airport

Orlando airport hopes to shorten security lines. Orlando International Airport will spend $18 million to reduce the time passengers wait in security lines. The airport will contract baggage handlers and build a baggage conveyor system. Apr 21, 2006

Phoenix Sky Harbor

Phoenix Sky Harbor received US government approval Friday to proceed with a $2 billion enhancement program comprising a new, 33-gate West Terminal, demolition of Terminal 2, an automated people-mover, realignment of Sky Harbor Blvd. west of Terminal 3, two new taxiways and improvements to the Terminal 4 International Concourse. Approval from the Phoenix City Council still is required. The airport said its three runways should be sufficient "well into the future." Apr 17, 2006

Portland airport

Portland crunches data to attract international flights. Portland International Airport has attracted flights to Frankfurt, Germany and Tokyo by proving it could generate strong demand for travel. The Oregon airport researched the viability of routes and courted carriers, said Bill Wyatt, executive director of the Port of Portland. Apr 20, 2006

Portsmouth International

Airport name change could increase customers. An aviation consultant suggests Pease Airport should change its name to Portsmouth International if it wants to lure as many as 500,000 passengers a year from airports in Manchester, Boston, Portland and Bangor, Maine. Currently, only Allegiant Air and Pan Am fly out of Pease Airport, which serves 30,000 passengers a year. The Manchester Airport director said with business falling in Manchester, the state doesn't need to develop competition in a limited aviation market. Apr 19, 2006

Ryanair

Ryanair asked the Polish government to abolish centralized airport tariffs, which the airline said inhibit regional airport growth, and to open a second Warsaw airport at the old military base in Modlin, which would allow the LCC to increase its Polish traffic from 1.6 million passengers per year to 10 million and add 10,000 jobs within five years. Apr 13, 2006

Seattle airport

Seattle control tower loses communication for 25 minutes. The control tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport did not respond to airplane traffic for 25 minutes on April 11. Two planes were affected, and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. Apr 18, 2006

SITA

SITA said it won a five-year, $5.6 million contract from the Moroccan National Office of Airports to install and maintain AirportConnect CUTE, "a state-of-the-art IT system for managing busy airport environments," at the country's main airports in Casablanca, Agadir and Marrakech. Apr 12, 2006

Southampton Airport

Southampton Airport could be renamed in honor of the man who designed the famous Spitfire according to the local BBC TV station. R J Mitchell was chief designer for Supermarine, leading the team and watched it make its maiden flight in March1935 from what was then called Eastleigh airfield. He died from cancer just two years later aged 42. Leslie Howard played the role in the famous wartime film First of the Few. On Thursday, Eastleigh Borough Council will be asking its members to support a move to rename the airport R J Mitchell International Airport in his memory. Any final decision on a name change lies with airport owners BAA. Out photograph show the Royal Mail stamp issued in March 1995 to commemorate the 60 anniversary of the Spitfires first flight. http://www.spitfiresociety.demon.co.uk Apr 23, 2006

Swissport International

Swissport International signed a comprehensive five-year ground handling agreement with Air Malta covering its operations at 23 airports beginning this month. Swissport also agreed to assume WestJet's ground operations at Toronto Pearson effective immediately. Swissport already works with WestJet in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Honolulu. Apr 19, 2006