Heathrow gets go ahead for third runway – Greenpeace not happy

by Scott Carmichael on

London Heathrow airport is in desperate need of a third runway.

Despite being one of the busiest airports in the world, all 481,000 yearly aircraft movements take place on just 2 runways.

Anyone who has arrived or departed from Heathrow has probably spent a decent chunk of time waiting in line for a take off slot, or received a complimentary 45 minute sightseeing trip making circles over London waiting for permission to land.

The UK government has been working on a proposal for a third runway for years, and finally agreed to grant building permission for it yesterday.

Of course, nothing airport related ever goes without some major opposition, and this one is no different.

Greenpeace is so strongly opposed to the expansion plans, that they purchased a chunk of land right in the village of Sipson. Sipson is one of the communities destined to become extinct when construction on the runway begins.

Their plan is to break the land up into smaller chunks, and sell it to as many people as possible, making it harder for the government to claim ownership.

Greenpeace argues that the third runway is not necessary, and they have a long list of reasons for being against this expansion.

Of course, environmental clubs like Greenpeace have a long history in trying to prevent new runways from being built, but very little history in actually stopping the construction.

A similar situation happened in the Netherlands in the mid 90’s when a local environmental protection club purchased a small plot of land just outside Schiphol airport and planted it full of trees. It delayed things a bit, but the runway was still built.

At the end of the day these actions just cost massive amounts of taxpayer money and clog up our legal systems, but it’s a noble cause and I don’t think anyone denies Greenpeace a little publicity stunt.

Winona Ryder gets a British Airways airplane priority landing status. Could you?

by Jamie Rhein on

Two days ago, Winona Ryder’s British Airways flight to Heathrow airport was granted priority landing status after Ryder became sick on the plane. Jaunted’s blurb doesn’t say how she got ill. One wonders was it the food? Is this normal for her? What about me or you? Could we get special treatment? Could we get a plane to land before all the others?

I was on a flight once when the plane turned around before it took off because a woman was complaining of being sick. She did keep hitting herself in the face as she was being led to the ambulance that whisked her away. As much as going back to the gate wasn’t a fun picnic, it was a good thing that she was let off the plane. Better that she was hitting herself in the face as she was getting off the plane than miles up in the air.

A quick Google search found these two articles about other diverted flights.

In October, on a United Airlines flight to LA, a flight was diverted to O’Hare International Airport after a dozen or so passengers complained of being sick.

Back in March, a flight from the Dominican Republic to Canada landed in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida after eight passengers became ill.

What isn’t clear is how sick is sick. “I feel sick,” one might say. Does this mean, “I have gas,” “I have a slight headache,” “I feel as if I could hurl all over myself,” or “I think I’m having a heart attack and won’t live to see another day?” Any parent with a child has played twenty questions at times to find out just what ‘sick” means.

The woman I saw hitting herself in the face did say she wasn’t feeling right as rain when she got on the plane. The flight attendant did try to soothe her nerves, but with no luck, thus the diversion.

It seems that diverting a plane because of an engine failure or when the toilet pump is burning would be a much easier call to make. Sick? Kind of vague. And I still wonder, if you’re Winona, could you get that plane to land faster?

Winona did go to the hospital after she got off the plane, but only for a couple of hours.

The flight attendant who helped land a plane when co-pilot had an emotional melt down was a hero

by Jamie Rhein on

If you ever saw the movie Airplane, the spoof on airplane disaster movies, you probably still laugh out loud thinking about it. Remember the scene when Julie Hagerty took over for the co-pilot but had to fight off the automatic co-pilot who was a blow-up doll? She was trying to help Striker (Robert Hays) land the plane.

That was a spoof.

In a real life story, a female flight attendant recently came to the assistance of a Boeing 767 commander after the co-pilot had a mental meltdown. On an Air Canada flight from Toronto to London’s Heathrow, the co-pilot, who had shown up for the flight acting slightly flustered and on edge — not his usual outgoing, chipper self — lost most of his marbles over the Atlantic.

After the co-pilot became increasingly belligerent and erratic, and refused to move from his seat, the flight commander asked the crew to help remove the co-pilot from his seat.

Once the co-pilot was removed — into the capable hands of doctors who happened to be on board — the flight attendant took over the co-pilot’s job. She had a commercial pilot’s license, thus was a huge help to the commander. The flight was diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland where she helped land the plane. Upon arrival, the co-pilot spent 11 days in a mental hospital before being transported back to Canada.

Although this real-life drama happened this past January, the investigation has just been completed. The commander and flight attendant were found to be heroes, although that term wasn’t used in the official report.

The official report is an interesting read about how decisions are made in the air to keep both passengers and crew safe. It’s a PDF file and was sent along by Gadling’s own Kent Wien who has the insider track to about everything.

These girls were not quite as helpful as that flight attendant. Why not? Click the images to find out!

United Airlines Pilot Arrested at Heathrow on Suspicion of Being Drunk

by Josh Lew on

A 44-year-old United Airlines pilot was arrested at London Heathrow this morning on suspicion of being drunk. The man’s name has not yet been released. He was arrested under Britain’s transportation safety laws, which include a strict limit on the alcohol levels of pilots.

United made a statement about the arrest:

“United Airlines’ alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have absolutely no tolerance for abuse or violation of this well-established policy. Safety is our No. 1 priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are co-operating with authorities and conducting a full investigation.”

The man was scheduled to act as first officer on a United flight from Heathrow to San Francisco. He was arrested as the plane sat at the gate in Terminal One. He was bailed out of Heathrow’s police station soon after his arrest but will have to return on January 16th of next year to face an inquiry.

Heathrow’s New VIP Lounge is Juvenile

by Josh Lew on

The presence of kids in the fast-paced world of airline travel can evoke as much controversy as McCain versus Obama. The harried business traveler not only has to worry about getting slowed up or annoyed by the incessant whining (real or imagined) of youthful travelers, they also have to be concerned about accidentally thumping a child on the head with a briefcase as they try to hurry to their gate.

In a nod to traveling tots, London Heathrow has created a VIP lounge specifically for families. It’s not the first, but definitely sounds the coolest. That’s right mom and dad, no need to put up with the icy glances of laptop jockeys in the regular first-class and business-class lounges. In fact, the kids’ lounge in Heathrow’s Terminal 5 doesn’t even require a business class ticket. Known as KidZone, it has an ample buffet, computers and whimsical decorations. Entrance costs $27 per trip and is also included in the membership perks of clubs like Priority Pass. Virgin Atlantic has a similar lounge at Heathrow, while some state-side airports like JFK and LAX boast child-friendly facilities as well. American Airlines will continue the trend by opening no less than 9 KidZone-like lounges at major airports in the US. Food you can eat with your hands, no worries about making noise, and I bet they have Legos too. Sounds better than the regular VIP to me. I wonder if they let you in even if you are not traveling with kids.

Why are these the world’s best airports?



Click the image to find out!