Appeals Court Overturns Passenger Rights Law
Pseudo-Jetsetters Use Heathrow As Shelter
Nepal Tourism Rebounds After Tumultuous Years
Pungent “Toxic Fumes” Diverts Alitalia Flight
APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS PASSENGER RIGHTS LAW - CNN
A federal appeals court yesterday ruled that only the federal government has the right to regulate an air carrier’s service, thus overturning a state law requiring carriers to provide food, water, clean toilets, and fresh air to passengers trapped on planes. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said New York’s law interferes with federal law governing the price, route or service of an air carrier. New York passed the law due to thousands of passengers being stranded aboard airplanes for up to 10 hours on several JetBlue Airways flights at Kennedy International Airport on Valentine’s Day last year. Enraged passengers lamented about being deprived of food and water, and even the toilets overflowed. “If New York’s view regarding the scope of its regulatory authority carried the day, another state could be free to enact a law prohibiting the service of soda on flights departing from its airports, while another could require allergen-free food options on its outbound flights, unraveling the centralized federal framework for air travel,” the court wrote.
Link: CNN
PSEUDO-JET SETTERS USE HEATHROW AS SHELTER - Time
If passengers’ flights are delayed, chances are they will curl up on the nearest bench and try to rest before departing. But at Heathrow, many of those individuals who are trying to get some shut-eye aren’t passengers at all. They are individuals always in transit; they are homeless men and women. Posing as passengers, they “play a cat-and-mouse game” with police by dressing incognito—complete with tacky fanny packs, floral shirts … any ridiculous tourist assemblage you can imagine. Since homeless people easily disappear into the traveling masses, Heathrow has begun trying a new approach. Last month, the airport commissioned Broadway, a homeless outreach organization, to survey the airport’s homeless population each week and also to coax the passenger posers to stay at temporary accommodations.
Link: Time
NEPAL TOURISM REBOUNDS AFTER TUMULTUOUS YEARS – The New York Times
After nearly a decade of bloodshed and political turmoil, Nepal is experiencing a resurgence in foreign tourism. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 2007 saw air arrivals up 27 percent from the previous year; more than 360,000 foreign air travelers touched down in the country, making it the most successful year for tourism since 2000. Now that the civilian government has been restored and the Maoist insurgency has signed a peace treaty, the political climate is far calmer than in previous years. Last year, several airlines resumed service or added new routes to Katmandu, and hotels are seeing a growth in bookings.
Link: The New York Times
PUNGENT “TOXIC FUMES” DIVERTS ALITALIA PLANE - Gadling
Crew on an Alitalia cargo flight en route from Milan to Miami, all wearing oxygen masks, reported smelling “toxic fumes,” and soon the plane was diverted to Boston’s Logan airport. Safety inspectors examined the aircraft, and their cargo manifests concluded that toxic chemicals were, in fact, found onboard, but further inspection proved that these chemicals complied with proper packaging and safety protocol. As inspectors began peeling away layers of the investigation, they discovered that ten thousand pounds of minced onions were causing the noxious fumes. The onions were removed from the aircraft and packed on trucks bound for Florida.
Link: Gadling
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