FAA systems outage causing nationwide delays this afternoon

by Scott Carmichael on

If you are heading to the airport this afternoon, then you may be in for a nasty surprise. The FAA’s “NADIN” system based out of Atlanta, is experiencing an outage. This system (National Aerospace Data Interchange Network) is the big computer responsible for processing flight plans from every flight in US aerospace. Delays are increasing all across the FAA map.

At the moment, Chicago Midway is seeing delays up to 90 minutes, O’Hare is almost at 75 minutes, and most other East Coast airports are all at 60 minutes or more.

As the delays increase, the systems outage will have a severe knock on effect for the entire country, and things are bound to get worse.

This is not the first time the FAA has had an outage in its NADIN system, last year the system grounded flights across the country for close to 6 hours, and the FAA has not been able to trace the cause of the problem. The NADIN computers were designed back in the early 80’s, and are slated for replacement later this year. Of course, none of that will be of any help if you are sitting in a departure lounge reading this.

As with all delays, I suggest heading to the airport on time as well as contacting your airline. Chances are that your plane might still leave the gate on time, but you may end up being held in a holding pattern on the tarmac for several hours while controllers manually process flights. Be sure to pack something to read!

American Eagle pilot tries to amuse his passengers and fails

by Scott Carmichael on

Passengers on American Eagle flight 4891 from New York’s La Guardia airport en route to Cleveland were already running 2 hours late when the pilot asked the flight attendant to advise the passengers that the aircraft would be diverted to Toledo. The reason given was “an emergency has shutdown Cleveland Hopkins Airport”.

Once the plane landed, passengers whipped out their mobile phones, expecting the need to make plans to get to their final destination, only to discover that the pilot had played a prank on them. There was no “emergency” and the plane has actually landed exactly where it was supposed to be.

Needless to say that some of the passengers didn’t share his sense of humor. American Eagle has confirmed the incident, and claims the matter is now “a personnel issue”. Fingers crossed for the pilot that someone at HQ understands the need for a joke every now and then.

I’ve been on the receiving end of a couple of cockpit pranks before, but I can’t say I’ve ever run into a pilot who tricked his entire plane into thinking they were going to land somewhere else.

What are your thoughts on this? Would you laugh it off, or immediately write a letter demanding one million miles?

(Image source: Flickr/Geir. W)

10 tips for smarter flying


The Gadling tour of JetBlue’s new Terminal 5 at JFK

by Jeremy Kressmann on

As Grant reported earlier this month, JetBlue is in the final stages of construction for its brand new home at Terminal 5 of New York’s JFK airport. This morning Gadling had the chance to take a sneak peak of the new facilities in advance of the building’s official opening on October 1st.

Although there’s still much to be accomplished in the next 6 weeks, the building is already shaping up as a winner. JetBlue has built a showpiece home for its growing brand – a building that in many ways looks poised to usher travelers into a new era of domestic air travel. It was equally refreshing to find a totally new (dare I say revolutionary?) approach to the airport culinary and concession experience – one that is sure to please the palates of picky New Yorkers and fellow travelers from across the U.S.

With a project this ambitious, JetBlue has also built themselves very high expectations for their new terminal’s success both in the press and with their passengers. But as we saw with the opening of London Heathrow’s new British Airways terminal earlier this year, there are inevitably some kinks that need to be worked out. Here’s hoping everything goes smoothly for JetBlue at launch.

So what exactly did we find during our visit? Follow the link below to get the full overview, and make sure to check out our gallery too for the full Terminal 5 experience.

%Gallery-30298%Departure Hall
As I entered into the main departure hall from the AirTrain, I was immediately struck by the room’s massive size and scale. Combining the latest in cutting edge design, the interior is large, airy and brightly lit with huge windows allowing in plenty of natural light. There was certainly no shortage of check-in kiosks, which are strategically placed in large groups throughout the hall. Though it hasn’t completely disappeared, there’s much less emphasis on check-in desks, clearly an attempt by JetBlue towards a more streamlined, online check-in process.

Also impressive was the attention given to the usually agonizing TSA-screening. Instead of one or two open lanes crammed up against a wall, Terminal 5 is equipped with 20 some-odd security checkpoints – a nod to the central role this process now plays in our post-9/11 lives. Will all these 20-something lanes be open when you head to the airport? That remains to be seen – but the fact the infrastructure is in place is a good sign.

Terminal Atrium and Concessions
After passing through security, travelers are greeted with a huge open atrium. The showpiece is clearly the huge circular string of flat-screen monitors, which hovers like some futuristic alien mothership above the large open space below. The monitors just had JetBlue branding on them today, but I imagine they will be used to potentially display flight info and perhaps some interactive art installations in the months and years ahead.

The edges of the atrium are also home to what is sure to be one of the more talked-about features of the new Terminal 5 – its restaurants and stores. If you’ve ever eaten a flavorless $10 sandwich at the airport before, you’re going to be in for a shock. JetBlue has what looks to be some great restaurants planned, including a hybrid sushi/noodle bar, a Spanish tapas bar (Tapas?! At the airport!?!) and even an old-school French bistro.

Even better, there looks to be a nice assortment of shops, including one of only three outlets of Japanese retailer Muji in the United States. While nice places to eat and shop might not be a dealbreaker when you choose an airline, it certainly goes a long way towards “re-humanizing” the domestic air travel experience.

The actual gate areas were nice – each has its own fully-digital flat-screen display to provide information and destination weather. Very nice, but nothing revolutionary. The terminal is largely decorated in neutral colors with a blue-ish carpeting reminding of JetBlue’s color scheme. I also particularly liked the panoramic views from the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which afford sweeping views of the take-off and landing of other planes at JFK.

Baggage Claim and Wrap-Up
Before wrapping up my Terminal 5 visit, I payed a quick visit to the baggage claim below. The massive carousels are set far apart from each other to avoid overcrowding. It’s hard to review a baggage claim area until you actually use it though – the jury is still out on this one until we see if everyone is getting their luggage back come October!

And with that I ended my tour of Terminal 5. As I passed by designer Eero Saarinen’s retro-futuristic TWA Flight Center on my way out, I couldn’t help but wonder. Saarinen envisioned air travel as the future of the country’s transportation hopes and designed his building to match that dream. But Saarinen probably never anticipated the spectre of 9/11 and its impact on an already battered airline industry, cutting costs and tossing traveler amenities. JetBlue’s Terminal 5 seems very much an attempt to return to aviation’s glory days, and one can only hope that they succeed.

Florida flights delayed due to — catfish on runway.

by Grant Martin on

As Florida gets pounded by rain for the third day straight, the 20 + inches of rain dropped on the sunshine state is starting to starting to have an effect on airport operations.

Flooding and generally soaked conditions near the Melbourne International Airport resulted in a slew of confused animals wandering through the grounds thinking that fields were wetland — two gopher tortoises, four walking catfish, an alligator and a blue indigo snake so far, to be exact.

While doing routine checks at the airport, inspectors discovered the creatures and were forced to delay at least one Delta Airlines inbound aircraft as they cleared the tarmac. According to the airport’s executive director, “The tortoises were moved to the airport’s designated gopher tortoise relocation area [while] the walking catfish and snake were tossed back into a nearby pond. The gator wanted no part of the action and scampered back into a drainage ditch”

Ah, the Gopher Tortoise Relocation Area. Many a heady night have I spent in the GTRA (as we regulars call it), drunk, flipping over Tortoises and playing red rover with the locals. I miss the days of unbridled tortise racing, binge drinking and catfish baseball at the Melbourne Airport — now all we have left is a small relocation area, a crate full of old photos and a vial full of unicorn tears to remember the past.

What strange things have been found on planes?


AirTran Airways to come to Columbus. It’s not Skybus, thankfully.

by Jamie Rhein on

Yesterday’s news brought the welcome breath of new life to Columbus ever since Skybus did us wrong, jilting us like an uncaring, unfeeling lover.

I heard in a radio news broadcast that AirTran Airways will begin flights between Columbus and Atlanta, Fort Myers and Orlando starting November 6. As the news commentator noted, this does not mean there will be a rush on low cost airlines to Columbus. Jet Blue, for example, has been there and done that.

Still, when I think of how Jet Blue used to be here before Skybus RUINED IT, I feel like Kate Winslet, almost frozen to death, floating on that piece of wood after the Titanic sank, hoarsely crying out, “Come back. Come back.”

I’m glad that AirTran has noticed that Columbus is a viable market for folks going to Florida. If you’ve ever been in Columbus, Ohio between January and April, you’ll know why folks are eager to get out of here and head south. The gray skies make this a place to leave if ever the chance arises.

If only AirTran wasn’t bailing out of Newburgh, New York and would make that a Columbus connection as well, I’d be ever so thrilled.

According to this article in the Columbus Dispatch, AirTran has been one of the best managed airlines in the past nine years. Skybus was exactly the OPPOSITE. I’m still stinging from the break-up.