New York, Miami and Los Angeles dominant U.S. ports of entry

by Tom Johansmeyer on

How do people get to the United States? Well, most of them seem to come in through the same places, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The top 15 ports of entry handled 83 percent of all arrivals in July 2010. This is a 2 percentage-point drop from July 2009, but it’s still a substantial concentration.

Three spots were responsible for 38 percent of all incoming visitors from outside the United States: New York JFK Airport, Miami and Los Angeles. This is off a percentage point from July 2009. Meanwhile, 13 of the top 15 ports of entry in the United States sustained traffic growth from July 2009 to July 2010, seven of them in double digits.

[photo by ToreLo via Flickr]

TSA announces that 11″ MacBook Air computers can remain in their bag at the checkpoint

by Scott Carmichael on

In a spot of good news for proud owners of the new 11″ MacBook Air, the Transportation Security Administration has announced that passengers may leave their machine in its bag when passing through the checkpoint.

A similar exception was previously made for the Apple iPad – which brings me to the question – why did they never announce these exceptions for the hundreds of similar machines passengers have used in the past? Before I started traveling with a checkpoint friendly bag, TSA officers always demanded that I remove my computer from its bag – even when the machine was just an 8 or 10 inch netbook.

The 13″ MacBook Air is sadly deemed too large for the exception – but that only raises even more questions – given that both machines are essentially the same on the inside, why can officers scan an 11″ machine when it is in a bag, but require special access to anything larger? The whole thing proves that the chairman of British Airways was right when he complained about inconsistent screening by the TSA.

And to clarify – the news comes from CNN who received it from a TSA spokesman – the TSA has not issued any kind of formal statement. Have you passed through security with a new 11″ MacBook Air? Did you notice any leeway in the screening procedure?

Update: According to the TSA blog, the rules for smaller computers were indeed relaxed earlier this year. In their words: Electronic items smaller than the standard sized laptop should not need to be removed from your bag or their cases.

In other words, there is no special exception for the 11″ MacBook Air – it simply falls under existing rules for smaller computers.

[Image credit: Getty Images]

TSA’s Secure Flight takes off, new identification rules come into effect

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Rules exist for a reason … and apparently enforcement isn’t one of them. In a move I can only describe as bizarre, the TSA has announced that, next month, it will start enforcing a rule about passenger identification. The rule, according to the TSA blog, “fulfills a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission by assuming responsibility of watch list matching from individual airlines.” The rule was brought to the table last year, but this critical function came with a one-year grace period.

I find this bizarre, because it’s tantamount to announcing that an important need has gone unaddressed for 12 months.

According to a report on USA Today, the rule calls for passengers to provide their personal identification data when booking their flights, and they have to show “a recognized government ID at the airport that matches the information.” You’ll have to provide “name, date of birth and gender as it appears on your government ID” when you book in order to get a boarding pass.

If you’ve already booked travel for after November 1, 2010 and haven’t provided all the data that will be required, you’ll probably want to contact the airline before you head out to the airport.

[photo by glenmcbethlaw via Flickr]

Ryanair cuts 1000 jobs and 150 flights over German air tax increase

by Scott Carmichael on

When the German government recently announced a new tourist tax designed to offset their budget woes, many airlines announced they’d be forced to cut flights and jobs. So far, Irish low cost carrier Ryanair has been the only one to actually deliver on that threat.

Because of the upcoming tax, the airline is reducing its presence at Frankfurt Hahn airport. At the moment, Ryanair operates over 530 flights from Hahn, and will bring that down to 382. In the process, 1000 jobs will be lost. Three of the airlines Boeing 737 aircraft will be moved to other airports in their route network.

From Frankfurt, this also means the loss of routes to Berlin, Prague and Gothenburg. The size of the Ryanair operation in Frankfurt is massive – and this reduction in flights means the airline will handle 1 million fewer passengers a year.

If Ryanair is just the first of German based airlines to make cuts like this, the proposed €8 tourist tax will most likely all go to waste on unemployment benefits for fired workers.

[Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images]

Photo of the Day (10.26.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on
I loved visiting airports at a very early age. There was (and will always be) something fascinating about the constant commotion, the bright colors, and overwhelmingly complex machines barreling down the tarmac. The hundreds of people walking through the airport doors; in transition, heading to exciting new destinations or returning home with stories to share.

This photograph of the ever-friendly PSA livery takes me right back to that early love for airports & travel. Appropriately titled ‘A Wink and a Smile’, Flickr user Samer Farha captured this USAirways plane taking off from National Airport on its way to La Guardia. Samer was able to snap the shot from a safe distance by using a 500mm lens and an additional doubler on a Canon 7D.

Do you love airports as much as we do? Do you have a favorite airplane livery? Share your favorite travel moments with us by submitting your photos to our Flickr Pool and it could be our next Photo of the Day.