FAA and Airlines Forced to Break Up
TSA Finds Way to Grope, Harass, Humiliate Travelers
Beijing to Designate Zones for Protestors
Delta-Northwest Merger Appears More Promising
Lake’s Disappearance Leaves Few Options
FAA AND AIRLINES FORCED TO BREAK UP – Associated Press
For the safety of passengers, the FAA and airlines no longer will be allowed to get cozy with each other. The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation—392 to 0—requiring the FAA to strengthen its safety inspection practices and sever any close relations it has with carriers. The legislation is in response to recent reports of FAA safety mishaps. The bill is “an initial legislative step in reversing the complacency over safety regulations that have set in at the highest levels of the Federal Aviation Administration,” said Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar. Other provisions include the creation of an independent safety office as part of the FAA to look at whistle-blower safety complaints overturn an initiative that required inspectors to treat air carriers as “customers.”
Link: Associated Press
TSA FINDS WAYS TO GROPE, HARASS AND HUMILIATE PASSENGERS – CBS 2 Chicago
It’s bad enough that passengers sometimes wait hours to pass through the security checkpoint, but don’t gripe too much—some claim they have been groped, humiliated and abused. Mandi Hamlin was prohibited from flying unless she removed her nipple rings. “I had to get pliers and pull it apart,” she said. Sixteen-year old Michael Angone, who lost part of her leg to cancer as a baby, has had to expose her entire leg to security. Perhaps one TSA supervisor said it all when she shouted “I have power, I have power, I have power,” to Robert Perry, a 71-year old disabled man whose pants had been pulled down by a TSA inspector.
Link: CBS 2 Chicago
BEIJING TO DESIGNATE ZONES FOR PROTESTERS – Washington Post
Attempting to placate protesters, Beijing Olympic organizers will set up designated protest zones to prevent disruption of the games. Although Beijing is being lenient in these zones, don’t expect it to tolerate a deluge of protests. If you want to protest at the Olympics, make sure to apply for permission in advance. “Until it begins we will not know how the officials and police will react,” said John Barton, director of sport for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. “Whereas we see controlled protests as a way of venting steam, Chinese see this as inviting people to riot,” said Beijing Olympic organizing committee’s security director Liu Shaowu.
Link: Washington Post
DELTA-NORTHWEST MERGER APPEARS PROMISING – TheStreet.com
A silver lining might be in sight for the Delta-Northwest merger, in part due to Delta believing the merger will create $2 billion in savings and benefits. The merger supposedly will cost only $600 million, instead of the $1 billion projected earlier. A tentative contract agreement last month would allow pilot groups from the two airlines to attach either carrier’s code to the flight it chooses. “We will be America’s premier global airline, and there is a price to pay for that,” Delta President Ed Bastian said. The merger also will make Delta the operator of 700 to 800 regional jets. According to Bastian, the Justice Department is going along with the deal. “We’re meeting all the information requests, [for] over 10 million pages of information, and we’re working in a very collaborative manner,” he said.
Link: TheStreet.com
LAKE’S DISAPPEARANCE LEAVES TRAVELERS FEW OPTIONS – Minneapolis Star Tribune
The once-famed water production on Lake Delton—complete with human pyramids on water skis—is all dried up. “The production that bills itself as the greatest show on H20 doesn’t have any H20. The lake bed is just a muddy moonscape,” reports the Associated Press. A downpour in June gouged out a mammoth hole in the lake’s shoreline, causing a rush of water to escape from the lake and destroy vacation homes. The lake was built in the 1920s as a tourist attraction, but now resorts, restaurants and boat rentals are barely surviving. Last summer alone, travelers spent more than a billion dollars in this destination. This summer, the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau has offered Lake Delton resorts discount tickets to other area attractions.
Link: Minneapolis Star Tribune
Want to see other recent Travel News Roundups? Click here.
Or, check out more travel news you can use in our main Travel News section.
Looking for even more in-depth news coverage of the week’s top stories? Visit our Peter’s Travel Detective Blog.
