Work has begun on a $1.5 billion (£1 billion) expansion of the international terminal at Los Angeles airport (LAX).
Upgrades to the Tom Bradley Terminal will include new restaurants, fifteen new boarding gates and other passenger services. It’s thought the project will be completed by 2013.
All this is not before time, some travellers might say, as LAX has frequently been judged among the worst in the United States. A recent survey found the airport received poor ratings for accessibility, terminal facilities, food and retail services, security screening and overall customer satisfaction. It achieved a ranking of just 2 among large airports in the US.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was at the ceremony marking the beginning of the project. “By modernizing the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, we will provide a better service for passengers from around the world,” he said.
“Tourism and international trade are major contributors to Los Angeles’ economy that generate jobs and contribute to the city’s ability to retain its position in the ever-increasing competitive global marketplace.”
by Andy Moreton
If you have a visit to the City of Angels in mind, take a look at Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in Los Angeles, which includes all the top names.
Most of us try to avoid hanging around airports for hours, but a British academic is going to spend a year in one – funded by the government.
Anthropologist Dr Damian O’Doherty will live for up to 18 hours a day at Manchester Airport, observing passengers’ and workers’ habits. The aim is to make them better places to visit or work.
Dr O’Doherty said he was particularly interested in what he called the kinetic elite:
“people always on the go, fixing business deals on their laptops, at the same time talking on their iPhone and perhaps posting a Twitter to friends and family.”
“It is very unusual for an anthropologist to do this but the place is a vibrant hotbed of change and it fascinates me.”
The exercise will cost about £40,000 to the taxpayer and not everyone thinks it’s money well spent.
Matthew Elliott, of the spending watchdog, the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said:
“If the department [for Business, Innovation and Skills] wanted to find out how people interact in an airport, all they needed to do was to rent the Tom Hanks film [Terminal Man, 2004]. Surely that would be better than squandering tens of thousands of pounds getting someone to research it for a year?”
by Andy Moreton
If you happen to find yourself in Manchester and in need of a hotel, rather than an airport bench, Luxique has four luxury options, including the renowned Lowry.
China is planning to construct the world’s highest airport at an altitude of 14,500 feet (4,436 metres).
The airport will be built in the Nagqu prefecture of Tibet – what’s been called ‘the roof of the world’. The region is home to a mostly ethnic Tibetan population of about 400,000.
The airport, to be located about 140 miles (230kms) north of Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, will be the sixth in the region, which has been ruled by China for almost six decades. It is expected to surpass Bamda Airport, also in Tibet, by 335ft (102m).
This is the latest in a series of ambitious infrastructure projects being carried out by China. A railway line connecting Tibet to the rest of China opened four years ago, and the government is constructing six new rail lines in and around the vast region, which is rich in natural resources.
Critics of China’s rule say this new infrastructure is allowing its ethnic Han majority to flood Tibet, exploit its resources and consolidate political control. But Beijing has insisted that such projects will raise the standard of living in the remote region.
Construction will begin next year and is likely to last three years. Experts say the task won’t be easy given the altitude and the climate – average temperatures there stay below zero throughout the year.
by Andy Moreton
The UK government’s announcement that it intends to introduce body scanners at all major airports has stirred up something of a hornets’ nest.
The decision was taken in the light of the failed attempt to blow up a US plane on Christmas Day, but the government has been told the devices might breach an individual’s right to privacy under the Human Rights Act.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has written to the government expressing its concerns.
The scanners produce ‘naked’ images of passengers, and civil rights groups warn they could generate illegal pictures of children and celebrities that could be leaked online. In response to such fears, the Department of Transport said it was developing a staff code of practice for airport body scanners.
In its letter, the EHRC calls on the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, to set out in detail the justification for bringing in body scanners, and clarify what safeguards will be put in place.
The Netherlands has also decided to install the scanners, but other countries such as Spain have sounded less enthusiastic.
by Andy Moreton
Continental Airlines had a slightly weird but entirely valid excuse for an eighty-minute delay on a flight out of Houston, Texas just before Christmas.
A pair of otters had escaped from their wooden cages in the hold and were seen scurrying across the tarmac. Airport workers managed to catch the animals and return them to captivity, and the flight took off for Columbus, Ohio. One worker was slightly hurt in the chase.
“They told us there were a couple of otters loose in the cargo area,” said passenger Nicky Devanny. “People thought it was a joke at first I think.”
Some travellers reported that the otters had tried to chew into their luggage.
by Andy Moreton
Cyprus has opened an ultra-modern airport that it hopes will boost flagging tourism and revive prospects of it becoming a regional transport hub.
The Cypriot President, Demetris Christofias, opened the new Larnaca terminal, built by a consortium of French and Cypriot companies, at a ceremony attended by 2,000 guests.
“Today serves as a landmark in the history of tourism development and the island’s infrastructure in general,” said Christofias. “This work plays a significant role in upgrading Cyprus as a main transit hub in the coming decades.”
The high-tech terminal is four times larger than its predecessor, which is just a couple of miles away on the island’s south coast. The old terminal was originally built as a makeshift facility in February 1975 after the island’s only airport, in the capital Nicosia, got caught up in no-man’s land as a result of the Turkish invasion eight months earlier.
The new Larnaca airport took three years to build at a cost of 656 million euros (£586 million / $974 million) in what was one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Cyprus. It now has the capacity to handle passenger traffic of up to 7.5 million people annually with a provision to extend this to nearly 10 million when the need arises.
by Andy Moreton
Luxique can secure you the best rates at three luxury hotels in Cyprus: the Anassa in Polis, the Annabelle in Paphos and the Londa in Limassol.
As an excuse for a delayed flight, it took some beating – a mouse was loose in the cabin.
Nearly 150 passengers on the Delta Airlines Boeing 767 from JFK New York to London Heathrow last Sunday were transferred to another plane after the mouse was spotted. Airport officials told them that the stowaway could create a safety hazard by chewing through electrical wire and hydraulic lines.
Amazingly, Delta confirmed that the same plane on the same scheduled flight had been evacuated three weeks earlier for the same reason. The airline said it was now “working with pest control experts in case remedial action is needed.”
The New York Times had a bit of an eye-witness exclusive on this one – their Deputy Managing Editor, William E Schmidt, was on board. “People were amused,” he said.
by Andy Moreton
Manchester Airport in north-west England has begun a trial of a controversial X-ray scanner that provides a virtual strip-search without the passenger needing to undress.
The Times newspaper described the process: “As passengers pass through the machine - hands on either side of their heads - a ghost-like outline of their naked bodies, including private parts, are conveyed to screeners sitting in another room. There is no hiding place for breast enlargements, piercings, hip replacements and, more importantly, knives or guns.”
This latest advance in aviation security is so sensitive that staff have reportedly been told not to call it ‘a body scanner’, but to refer to ‘imaging technology’.
Travellers can refuse to undergo the high-tech search at Terminal 2 and instead opt for the standard ‘pat down’ version, where passengers are asked to remove coats, jackets, shoes and belts.
Sarah Barrett, the airport’s head of ‘customer experience’, said: “The process is completely anonymous. We can assure the public that it does not allow security staff to see passengers naked.” She added that the images were not erotic or pornographic and could not be stored or captured in any way.
The Department for Transport will decide whether to install the £80,000 ($126,000) scanners at the end of the trial, which is expected to last a year.
Message boards have been busy putting this idea under scrutiny. Comments ranged from ‘absurd and disgusting’ to ‘anything that makes it safer to fly is a good thing’.
by Andy Moreton
Rome is known as the Eternal City, but to some weary travellers that could describe the wait by the baggage carousel at one of the main airports.
Frequent travellers to Rome say it’s not uncommon for a delay of up to two hours before bags emerge at Fiumicino – one of two international airports serving the city (the other is Ciampino).
Now, though, it’s likely that action will be taken, because the Mayor, Gianni Alemanno, has himself been caught up in the chaos after a short flight from Venice.
“I waited for more than an hour, in a crowded room and with air conditioning which barely worked,” he said. Front page pictures taken on a cell phone showed Mr Alemanno leaning against a pillar in his shirt sleeves.
Saying that it was unacceptable for an airport of international calibre, he’s convened a meeting between baggage handling companies, airport managers and the civil aviation authority. He said the shame had to end as soon as possible.
Fiumicino’s baggage problem has defied earlier efforts to solve it. Some unions in Italy’s national airline, Alitalia, have blamed the problems on staff cuts after the carrier was privatised last year.
by Andy Moreton
Rome is a great city to visit – well worth any minor transit problems. Take a look at Luxique’s comprehensive guide to luxury hotels in Rome.
A runway at New York’s JFK airport had to be closed for a time last week because 78 turtles emerged from a nearby bay and crawled on to the tarmac.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said ground crews rounded up the wayward reptiles in about 35 minutes and deposited them back in the water, farther from airport property.
The incident disrupted JFK’s flight schedule and led to delays of up to an hour-and-a-half.
The turtles were identified as Diamondback terrapins, a species common to Jamaica Bay, which surrounds the airport. They’re about 8 inches long and weigh 2 to 3 pounds each.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s wildlife strike database, jets hit turtles a few times each year at JFK, usually at the end of June or in early July when it’s the breeding season.
by Andy Moreton
Check out Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in New York – from the traditional to the chic boutique.
