OAG Travel News

Major US airports were operating normally on Tuesday Aug. 26 evening after a glitch in the computer system for filing flight plans delayed hundreds of flights, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The Department of Homeland Security said there was no link to terrorism and the FAA said the computer glitch did not affect its ability to safely track planes in the air. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the problem was resolved around 6 pm EDT (2200 GMT), about 4 1/2 hours after a communications link failed in the system that processes flight plans at a facility south of Atlanta. The agency's best guess is that "hundreds" of flights across a wide swath of the United States from Dallas and Chicago to the East Coast had been delayed by the computer breakdown, Brown said, adding that the FAA would not have an exact count until Wednesday.

The cause of Tuesday's FAA air traffic control computer failure on Tuesday Aug. 26 was not known but it was not due to a computer hacking attack, said Hank Krakowski, chief operations officer for the FAA's air traffic division. Flight plans include information such as the type of aircraft, destination and number of passengers. The other flight-plan facility in Salt Lake City had to handle the entire country when the Atlanta system failed but the backup system quickly overloaded, Brown said. FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitalire said the agency had never experienced a computer problem this severe. "We've had some equipment failures but not like this," she said. An FAA communications outage in Memphis last year caused huge air-traffic snarls. The technicians' union blamed FAA cost-cutting for reducing backup standards.

Air France, Boeing An Air France KLM Boeing 747 aircraft on a flight from Paris skidded off the runway after landing at Montreal's Trudeau Airport on Tuesday but there were no injuries or serious damage, police said. Passengers were taken off the plane by emergency crews after it overshot the runway and became stuck in the grass. Operations at the airport were not seriously affected and planes continued to land and take off.

Atlanta US FAA said it fixed a glitch in its National Airspace Data Interchange Network based near Atlanta that caused more than 600 flight delays Tuesday, including numerous delays as long as 90 min. at several major airports in the eastern US. The system failed for about 6 hr., forcing all flight plans to be filed with FAA's only other NADIN in Salt Lake City. That system overloaded as a result of the extra work and some flight plans had to be entered manually. Operations were back to normal yesterday. The agency said it is attempting to determine the "root cause" of the failure to prevent a recurrence.

Los Angeles Los Angeles International Airport workers halted a day-old strike and returned to work on Friday after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa brokered a truce with companies providing ground services for major airlines. The walkout ended as the world's fifth busiest passenger airport, and third busiest in the United States, headed into the bustling Labor Day holiday weekend, during which an estimated 825,000 travelers are expected to pass through LAX. The airline service companies and the Service Employees International Union agreed to resume contract negotiations next week under a three week "cooling-off" period called for by Villaraigosa. They also agreed that striking workers would return to work without retaliation from management. A union spokesman said workers were back on the job by 8:30 a.m. local time.

Phuket Airport Thai Protests Force Phuket Airport Closure. Anti-government protests spreading across Thailand forced the airport in Phuket, a major tourist destination in the south, to close on Friday, Thai Airways said. "Flights have been suspended because the airport authorities have announced that the airport is closed," a Thai Airways spokeswoman said.

Rocco Forte The Rocco Forte Collections latest five-star hotel, named The Augustine after the monks who will remain on site, is set to open in Prague, January next year. Located 10km away from Ruzyne International Airport in the citys Lesser Town quarter, or Mala Strana, the hotel is close to Pragues commercial district, Czech Parliament, Senate and embassies, as well as shopping areas and other historical sites. Each of the 81 double or twin rooms and 20 suites will average 40sqm. However, the 140sqm Presidential Suite and three-floor Tower Suite will be considerably larger. A Rocco Forte spokesperson revealed rates starting at EUR375 (£300), however special opening offers will be available.

Singapore Changi Singapore Changi's 27-year old Terminal 1 is getting a S$500 million ($353.9 million) facelift to improve passenger flow and refurbish interior designs and finishes. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore signed a contract yesterday with Takenaka Corp. for the improvements, with completion expected in the third quarter of 2011. The project includes a new departure curbside canopy spanning the length of the building and a 35-m. airside expansion. Terminal 1 also will feature a new garden with live flowers extending from the arrival hall to the departure hall. Another notable feature is a lantern-like structure on the roof that will be illuminated at night. There will two new skylights in the departure hall.

Sunair, Kufra Two hijackers who took over a Sun Air 737-200 on Tuesday Aug. 26 released the 95 passengers and crew yesterday in Kufra, Libya, and surrendered to authorities without violence, according to widespread press reports. The hijackers reportedly demanded to be flown to Paris.

Toronto City Centre Airport Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA) has long been an integral part of the Toronto waterfront, purpose-built in 1939 on reclaimed property in Lake Ontario and the citys first commercial airport. It is just a few minutes from Union Station and the center of the city. A number of carriers used the facility over the years but were constrained in terms of aircraft suitability, and the fact access could only be achieved by a very short ferry ride. None of them lasted. Some local community groups and politicians also opposed the airport, but rather like London City these have become more muted as time has progressed. There is still no bridge. Toronto City is a convenient alternative to Pearson International Airport for destinations within a 500 mile radius or two-hour flight time of the Greater Toronto Area. The airline lists a number of target route cities including Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Quebec City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It says it reached positive cash flow in March 2007 with ongoing profitability since June 2007. Catering includes premium snack boxes and a selection of beverages, including free beer and local Ontario wine.

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