‘Soccer Ball-Sized’ Swarm Of Bees Disrupts Flight

by Rob Annis on

Travelers have grown used to numerous airline interruptions, but Wednesday’s delay of a US Airways flight from Charlotte may have been a first.

A “soccer ball-sized” swarm of bees descended upon workers towing Flight 2690 from the gate, causing them to hastily retreat. Passengers on the Indianapolis-bound plane had no idea what was happening until the pilot announced over the intercom that the jet was under attack from the winged insects. No bees managed to make it into the aircraft.

Help arrived a short time later in the form of beekeeper Jimmy Odom, who drove the bees and their queen away from the runway. Odom said the bees were docile and merely looking for a new place to hang their hive.

The 1:15 p.m. flight, which had already been delayed 30 minutes for an unrelated mechanical issue, finally took off around 4 p.m. It’s not known if any passengers were stung by missed connecting flights.

Flight 2690’s misfortune was just one of the mishaps happening at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport that day. A plane flying to Rome from the airport was rerouted to Philadelphia after mechanical issues popped up above the Atlantic Ocean. And earlier in the day, a moving walkway caught fire in one of the concourses, forcing an evacuation of the smoke-filled terminal.

Who Are The People Behind The Voices In The Airport?

by Anna Brones on

If you’re late, an airport can be a stressful place (although some people might love to call one home). You’re juggling your overpacked carry-on bag, trying to find your ticket — or did you go for the mobile boarding pass this time? — and suddenly remember you haven’t dumped out your reusable water bottle. But in the midst of the mayhem, there’s always a reassuring voice, reminding you to not leave your bags unattended.

You know why it’s reassuring? Because that woman talking to you over the PA system is in fact a sweet woman in her 60s, and she can be heard in more than 200 airports around the world.The woman is Carolyn Hopkins. Her male airport voice counterpart is named Jack Fox. Thanks to a company called Innovative Electronic Designs that is the leading supplier of automated paging systems (i.e. what you hear as recorded messages in airports and subways) the two of them can be heard everywhere from O’Hare to Kennedy.

Do they get recognized? Of course they do, but it’s rarer then you might think. An in-depth article on The Verge takes a look at the pair’s stories, giving us a closer look at two people most of us have never met, but who are surprisingly familiar.

Fox says he was renting a car at the terminal once, and the agent said, “You sound like that guy!” Then there was the time he was traveling with his granddaughter: “She got this puzzled look on her face and said: ‘Why is grandpa talking so much?'”

That comfort of strangers makes most of us travelers feel right at home, which in turn gives the voice duo a sense of doing something good. As Fox says, “My father was a minister, and I think of this as my airport ministry.”

Read the full story on The Verge.

I Slept In The Conference Room At Comfort Inn O’Hare

by Elizabeth Seward on

My evening of July 9 was filled with the kind of mundane frustration that can come only from delayed travel. My husband and I were set to fly from New York City to Chicago and Chicago to Marquette, Michigan. Our flight out of New York kept getting pushed back and, despite receiving a seat on a plane leaving earlier than our original flight to Chicago, we still missed our connection in Chicago – the last flight to Marquette for the day. Since the delays were weather-related, we received a coupon for a hotel rather than a voucher. We found the shuttle and lugged our bags toward the long line at the Comfort Inn O’Hare. Once we had our key, we went to our room and opened the door only to find that we’d been placed in the hotel conference room.Just beyond the gigantic oval table and whiteboard was a normal hotel bed. My husband called the front desk to make sure there hadn’t been a mistake. They said we got the last room in the hotel because many passengers had been stranded in Chicago that evening and received airline coupons for the hotel. I wasn’t at all perturbed. Having to wait around all day for delayed and missed flights only to be put up in an airport hotel is boring. This, on the other hand, was new.

A follow-up call with the hotel manager revealed that this “Conference Room Suite” is always available for guests to rent and that under normal circumstances, it costs more, too. Although I didn’t see the room as a booking option on their website, business travelers occasionally choose this room over others. Distressed passengers typically stay in the room only if the hotel has been hit hard with delayed and canceled flights and has nowhere else to put guests.

Aside from the leaking ceiling and distance between the bed and television, I was happy to stay in the conference room. Not only did it give me a roof over my head for the night, but it gave me a good story, too. Have you ever been placed in an unusual hotel room?

[Photo Credit: Ben Britz]

Stuck At The Airport: Edward Snowden Vs. ‘Hippies’

by Michael Yessis on

Last week Edward Snowden got some interesting company in the world of highly publicized airport strandings. Grandma and Grandpa Woodstock’s plight caught people’s attention, albeit in a much different way than Snowden. Here’s the breakdown:

Given name(s) Edward Joseph Snowden Unknown
Nicknames TheTrueHOOHA, Phish Grandma and Grandpa Woodstock
Reason for travels Running from the Feds A Rainbow Family gathering
Stuck at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Salt Lake City Airport
Duration 28 days and counting (arrived in Moscow June 23) “Several hours“
Reason stuck in the airport Man without a country Woman without ID. “She forgot where she put it, probably 10 years ago,” said Grandpa Woodstock.
Message “This willingness by powerful states to act extra-legally represents a threat to all of us, and must not be allowed to succeed,” Snowden said. “All we have to do to have peace and love is learn how to love each other like brothers and sisters,” Grandpa Woodstock said.
Final destination To be determined Woodstock, New York

In other airport stranding news, a group of seven travelers has been stranded in Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s transit area for 14 days.

Should you ever find yourself living at an airport, don’t despair. Here are five reasons it might be kinda nice.

Aircraft Turned Diner To Open As Florida Attraction

by Chris Owen on

The Douglas DC-7 made history in 1953 flying the first non-stop coast-to-coast service in the country for American Airlines. But the DC-7’s fame did not last long, as just a few years later, jet aircraft would charge the future of commercial aviation. Gone but not forgotten, the DC-7 is getting new life as an aircraft turned diner Florida attraction.

Chef Tony Perna and brother Danny, who owns a flight school, bought the passenger DC7 and are now converting it into a 40-seat family restaurant. Built in 1956, the aircraft flew 32,856.40 hours hauling both passengers and cargo. Restored as the DC-7 Grille, An Aviation Themed Culinary Experience, dinners will range from $12 to $26 dollars and a kids menu will be included.”To complete the aviation experience each table with have a flight attendant call button, and headsets to listen to air traffic control,” says the DC-7 Grille Facebook page.

Preserving much of the aircraft in its original form, engine parts will be displayed and visitors can tour the preserved aircraft cockpit

Located on Skyline Drive in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, the DC-7 Grille is set to take off some time late this year. Props to these guys for preserving a bit of aviation history.

Not familiar with the DC-7 aircraft? Check out this video of one taking off: