Claiming to Be Terrorist, Passenger Assaults Flight Attendant
DOT Clarification Changes Course of Passenger Bill of Rights
New Hub to Ease LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK
Pilot “Emergency” Lands for Son’s Tennis Tryouts
CLAIMING TO BE TERRORIST, PASSENGER ASSAULTS FLIGHT ATTENDANT - MSNBC
After drinking and resorting to belligerence on Flight 146 from Atlanta on Delta Air Lines, Aiden Simon Mackle, 44, told a Delta employee he was a terrorist affiliated with Osama bin Laden. The flight soon was diverted to Bangor International Airport on Saturday. According to an FBI affidavit, he lit up a cigarette in the restroom and verbally abused a flight attendant who confronted him. An off-duty pilot explained to Mackle that the pilot might have to make an emergency landing, and Mackle responded, “OK, I’m a terrorist. Go ahead and land the plane,” then punched an off-duty flight attendant. Mackle faces federal charges of assault and interfering with a flight crew.
Link: MSNBC
DOT CLARIFICATION CHANGES PASSENGER BILL OF RIGHTS PATH – Aviation Week
The U.S. Transportation Department on Monday announced the clarification that state passenger bills of rights are governed by federal—not state—law. This clarification could affect nationwide court cases. DOT is arguing that all airline services are preempted by federal law and that state law is already preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act. “The Supreme Court has consistently interpreted the ADA broadly so as to preclude any regulation of airline services other than by the federal government,” DOT said.
Link: Aviation Week
NEW HUB TO EASE LA GUARDIA, KENNEDY AND NEWARK LIBERTY – The Wall Street Journal
To avoid congestion at New York’s airports, would you board a bus or train and ride for two hours to avoid a possible three-hour delay? Stewart Airport, an abandoned Air Force base located 60 miles from Manhattan, will be morphed into a fourth airport for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates New York’s airports. The Port Authority will spend $600 million on the project, and it promises it will transform the deserted Stewart Airport into a “bustling hub,” since it cannot build anymore runways at La Guardia, Kennedy or Newark Liberty airports. “We have to get people to change habits and one way to do that is with price,” said Diannae Ehler, the Port Authority’s general manager at Stewart. “Reliever airports,” however, can create many challenges for large cities because sometimes airlines resist the new, more obscure hubs, and passengers, specifically business travelers, prefer airports that have lots of flights, in case delays or cancellations occur.
Link: The Wall Street Journal
PILOT “EMERGENCY” LANDS FOR SON’S TENNIS TRYOUTS – Chicago Tribune
Onlookers made worried calls to the police when a plane circled Crane’s Landing golf course at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort twice before it touched down on the 7th fairway. Officials, who thought the Piper Clipper airplane may have crashed, were flabbergasted when they saw Robert Kadera, 65, and his 14-year-old son walking through the snow, holding a Prince racket and a bag of tennis balls. “We’re all pretty dumbfounded. I don’t have any idea what the guy was thinking. … He was going to park his plane across the street like nobody would notice” Lincolnshire Police Chief Randy Melvin said. At minimum, Kadera could be charged with trespassing. Kadera’s son Issac, was on his way Monday afternoon to try out for the junior-varsity tennis team.
Link: Chicago Tribune
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