Travel News

The Icarus Awards: A-List Edition

Locations in this article:  Florence, Italy Portland, OR St. Louis, MO Sydney, Australia

Roll out the red carpet for the week’s travel failures. There are lots of A-list nominees up in the air this week. They might not be able say a line or dribble down the line, but one of them stands to win this week’s Icarus award.

NBA or NRA?

Former Portland Trailblazer Darius Miles may no longer be wanted by the NBA, but he is a wanted man for the TSA. Miles, 29, was caught trying to bring a loaded gun through security at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. A TSA staffer found the weapon in the X-ray machine. Miles was then arrested by the airport police and booked in the St. Louis County jail in Clayton on Wednesday evening. He was released later that evening, but it looks like the next uniform he’s wearing will be as Jailblazer.

Passing out on the Sky Couch

When Air New Zealand’s puppet mascot Rico is making fun of your legal battles, you know your career is in trouble. While Lindsay Logan has been absent from the big screen for some time now, she did make an appearance in a recent Air New Zealand promotional film where the puppet made jabs about her court battles and presented her with “beautiful jeweling” that he assured her had been paid for. With airports and airlines doing everything in their power to combat theft, Air New Zealand made an interesting choice for a celebrity endorsement.

Twice Delayed and Once Evicted

Allegiant Flight 696 was about to take off after a long delay when a 2-year-old passenger had a different agenda. The young traveler refused to sit still and instead was running around in the cabin as the plane prepared for take off. Traveling without a car seat, the plane’s seatbelt was not enough to restrain the child’s adventurous spirit. The pilot deemed it an unsafe situation and requested that the child and his two guardians be removed from the flight. The family was put on a flight the next day with the “strong suggestion” that they bring a car seat.

Look Who’s Not Talking?credit Qantas

Qantas’ most famous spokesperson, John Travolta, is out of a job. Travolta’s pre-flight cameo in the Qantas safety video is no longer being shown because of one line. Travolta claims, “There’s no one I’d prefer to have at the controls than a Qantas pilot,” a line that doesn’t play well during the ongoing labor disputes between pilots and management. Qantas pilots have taken to making unauthorized announcements about industrial grievances following Travolta’s prompt. While many pilots stand to lose their job to outsourced labor, Travolta is the first casualty. Seems like his air safety hosting career will not be staying alive.

No Snowglobe for You

Pisa, Italy, a city best known for one tourist attraction has decided to ban “vulgar” souvenirs. Boxer shorts of the leaning tower, aprons of Michelangelo’s David and provocative Pompeian art have all been outlawed. Florence and Sienna are joining in on the bad taste ban and implementing heavy fines for vendors selling this merchandise. The fine for selling these items starts at 500 (about $713), but we would argue that for some these goods are “priceless.”

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By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com.

Related links: Stopwatch, MSNBC, CNN, AOL Travel

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