KZRG: Kansas aviation information available on KDOT website. “A new website created by the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation, in collaboration with industry experts, provides a close-up look at all 140 public-use airports across the state and their impact on the communities they serve. Online dashboards provide the conditions of airport runways, economic impact data, future airport needs and more.”
CNN: Russian-speaking hackers knock multiple US airport websites offline. No impact on operations reported. “More than a dozen public-facing airport websites, including those for some of the nation’s largest airports, appeared inaccessible Monday morning, and Russian-speaking hackers claimed responsibility. No immediate signs of impact to actual air travel were reported, suggesting the issue may be an inconvenience for people seeking travel information.”
Clare Herald: New website showcases life of Brendan O’Regan. “Brendan O’Regan’s many achievements include setting up the world’s first duty-free airport retail outlet at Shannon Airport. In economic terms, he initiated Ireland’s first programme of foreign direct investment in manufacturing, based on a favourable enterprise climate. Internationally, he is acknowledged as the father of the €70 billion a year airport duty-free business.”
News 3: Woman arrested at McCarran after mask disturbance, yelling ‘Let’s go Brandon’. ” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police have arrested a woman who caused a disturbance at McCarran airport on Saturday. According to the police report, the woman identified as Katrina Alspaugh became involved in a verbal altercation with another passenger at a security checkpoint when she was confronted about not wearing a face mask. Alspaugh made a motion with her fist as if she was attempting to punch the other person.”
KRON: San Jose airport launches new free digital library for travelers. “All passengers, regardless of age, can download up to four e-books using a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Once downloaded, readers can access the text offline almost anywhere they are traveling to during their loan period of three weeks. The digital library has a collection of bestsellers, fiction and non-fiction, as well as children’s and young adult books that are available in English and Spanish. The collection is updated monthly.”
Israel 21c: 30-second baggage disinfection coming to airports. “It takes less than 30 seconds for AirFort’s proprietary 3D array of ultraviolet lights to disinfect surface contamination from carry-on and checked bags, personal items and oversized bags and parcels before they enter an airport concourse or the plane’s cargo hold.”
BBC: India: Delhi orders Covid tests at airports as cases surge. “India’s capital, Delhi, will begin randomised Covid tests at airports, bus stops and train stations amid what some experts say is a second wave. Mumbai, a financial hub and virus hotspot, ordered mandatory testing in busy areas earlier this week. Cases have surged in recent weeks – on Wednesday, India reported more than 47,000 new cases and 275 deaths, it’s highest this year.”
BBC: Aditya Singh: Man found ‘living in airport for three months’ over Covid fears. “A man too afraid to fly due to the pandemic lived undetected in a secure area of Chicago’s international airport for three months, US prosecutors say. Aditya Singh, 36, was arrested on Saturday after airline staff asked him to produce his identification. He pointed to a badge, but it allegedly belonged to an operations manager who reported it missing in October.”
The Verge: Civil rights groups move to block expansion of facial recognition in airports. “A coalition of civil rights groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union have filed an objection to the proposed expansion of Customs and Border Protections facial recognition at land and sea ports. The National Immigration Law Center, Fight for the Future, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are also participating in the motion, alongside twelve others.”
BBC: Shanghai airport Covid scare sparks ‘chaotic’ mass testing. “A string of positive Covid tests at Shanghai’s Pudong airport has sparked mass testing of thousands of people amid reportedly chaotic scenes. Authorities requested all cargo staff come for testing on Sunday. Official pictures released of the testing appear to show an orderly, calm process. However, other videos believed to be of the mass testing show officials in hazmat suits corralling large, yelling crowds into a restricted space.”
BBC: Covid-19: First UK airport coronavirus testing begins. “Passengers flying from Heathrow to Hong Kong and Italy on Tuesday will be the first to have the option of paying for a rapid Covid test before checking in. The test will cost £80 and a result can take a mere 20 minutes. The aim is to help people travelling to destinations where proof of a negative result is required on arrival.”
Ubergizmo: Finland Deploys COVID-19 Sniffer Dogs At The Airport. “We’ve all seen how dogs are deployed at checkpoints along the border or at airports to help sniff out drugs and other illegal substances that people should not be bringing into a country, but could sniffer dogs also be used to sniff out diseases in people, like the coronavirus? Apparently so, or that’s what Finnish researchers believe.” There’s already been quite a bit of research done into dogs sniffing out coronavirus.
Yahoo News: Exclusive: White House orders end to COVID-19 airport screenings for international travelers. “The U.S. government on Monday will stop conducting enhanced screening of passengers on inbound international flights for COVID-19, Yahoo News has learned. The screening operations have been held at select airports since January, when the first cases of the disease began to emerge from Wuhan, China. Since March, incoming international flights from select high-risk countries, including much of Europe, China and Iran, among other regions, have been funneled through 15 designated airports in the United States.”
Washington Post: More than 1,000 TSA employees have tested positive for coronavirus. “More than 1,000 employees at the Transportation Security Administration have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to figures the agency released Thursday. Nearly all of them are security officers who have continued to work screening passengers at airports throughout the pandemic.”
AOPA: FAA Contacting Private Airport Owners To Update Data. “Almost 3,000 privately owned airports could be listed as ‘closed’ in the FAA’s online database and be removed from aeronautical charts if owners don’t verify their airport records by June 30.”
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