Severe turbulence causes emergency landing in Calgary

by Martha Edwards on

Several passengers have been taken to hospital in Calgary, Alberta this morning after an Air Canada Airbus A319 had to make an emergency landing, according to reports. The cause appears to be severe turbulence, which led to passengers and loose items being thrown around the cabin. Luckily, no one is severely injured.

According to one passenger’s account: “It happened very fast. One side of the plane just went up a little bit sideways and then just went back down. Our friend was really hurt. … She flew up and hit the ceiling and went back down.”

With a dad who’s a pilot, I certainly know the meaning of bad turbulence — but it’s pretty rare that turbulence is so severe it causes an emergency landing. Scary.

Cellphones to replace boarding passes?

by Catherine Bodry on

In a three-month pilot program at Houston Intercontinental Airport, passengers will be able to board flights using only a cellphone or a personal digital assistant instead of a boarding pass.

Passengers boarding Continental flights will show a code on their screen that has been sent to their phone or PDA. A bar code stores the passenger’s name and flight information, and a TSA screener will confirm the bar code’s authenticity by scanning it with a special handheld device. Passengers will still need to show photo ID.

Air Canada has also been offering this service since September, and reports that “passengers love the new service.”

What do you think?

Air Canada is Set to Ban Pets in the Cabin

by Martha Edwards on

Air Canada is set to become the first Canadian airline to ban pets from riding in the cabin of its aircrafts. This news comes after one passenger had a severe allergic reaction to the the presence of a cat in a seat near her. Unfortunately, because the air on flights is recycled, allergic reactions often won’t go away simply by moving the pet to another seat away from the allergy sufferer.

Meanwhile, Air Canada‘s competitors, particularly Westjet, are taking advantage of the ban by attempting to woo pet lovers.

I’m an animal lover but I kind of agree with Air Canada — it’s not fair for allergy sufferers to bring your pets in the cabin. It’s also not really fair to make animals suffer in the belly of the plane, but I think pets suffer from any journey, no matter where they are on the plane. Here’s my solution: leave Fido at home or drive.