Author: Metropolitan Airport News
Metropolitan Airport News
Produced by a team of aviation professionals and enthusiasts, our mission is to inform and update the more than 68,000 employees who work on the metropolitan New York airport properties, as well as the many others that provide goods and services in the surrounding communities.
Amsterdam Schiphol and its partners have begun what it is calling a sustainable aircraft taxiing trial using a vehicle known as a ‘taxibot’. Belonging to Smart Airport Systems and one of only ten in the world, Schiphol’s taxibot is powered by a hybrid combination of electric and diesel engines that are expected to reduce airline fuel consumption by up to 85% during the aircraft taxiing process. The airport notes that departing aircraft can take 14 minutes to taxi between the gate and the apron/airfield, whereas arriving aircraft take around nine minutes. “This study aligns with our ambition to be the…
Without the usual fanfare, Boeing has resumed B737 Max production at its’ Renton, Washington assembly plant. Boeing has announced it resumed the production of B737 MAX narrow-bodies at its Renton site, nearly half a year after it was interrupted for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. The American manufacturer said that it restarted the production “at a low rate”, without specifying how many units per month it plans to complete. It added that it would “gradually ramp up” the production rate over the coming months. Boeing suspended the production of the MAX in January 2020 due to the costs and…
Honeywell and Dimer LLC announced a partnership to bring an ultraviolet cleaning (UVC) system to airlines that, when properly applied, significantly reduces certain viruses and bacteria on airplane cabin surfaces. The Honeywell UV Cabin System can treat an aircraft cabin in less than 10 minutes for just a few dollars per flight for midsize to large airline fleets. “This offering is a big win for our airline customers, which are seeking affordable ways to clean their cabins effectively and quickly between flights,” said Mike Madsen, Honeywell Aerospace president and CEO. “Honeywell is working on a range of solutions to help make passengers more…
According to a Science Watch article in The New York Times published in the 1990’s, International Wildlife magazine claimed that NH painted eyes on 26 of its Boeing 747 and 767 in a controlled experiment and left the rest of its fleet without the fake eyes. At the end of the one-year test period, each of the engines adorned with painted eyes had an average of just one bird collision. However, an average of nine birds had struck each unpainted engine. And today, the tradition carries on with all new aircraft painted in the same manner. Bird strikes are a significant…
Airlines for America (A4A) has pledged its member carriers will refund tickets paid by customers who fail pre-boarding temperature checks—on the condition they are conducted by federal authorities. The airline lobby group has been advocating for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to conduct mandatory temperature screening of all passengers during the COVID-19 pandemic, reasoning such checks will help reduce the risk of contagion and reassure the public about the safety of air travel. TSA has so far refrained from performing temperature checks. The Trump administration has been studying the proposal, but no decision has been made. The CEOs of American…
Just before 7:30 a.m. on June 22, Southwest Airlines flight 370 lifted off from McCarran International Airport, climbing westward over the Las Vegas Strip with Captain Bob Halicky at the controls. Banking north, the twin-engined Boeing 737-700 with the airline’s ubiquitous blue, yellow and red livery leveled off at its cruising altitude of 40,000 feet for its flight to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. For the passengers on board, it was a normal flight, landing twelve minutes early. But for Bob Halicky, a 59-year-old Las Vegas resident, had waited nine years for this opportunity, it was a very special event. It was…
On May 18th, Volga-Dnepr transported an Atlas 5 rocket booster to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for a scheduled mission to Mars. The AN-124-100 ‘Ruslan’, is the only aircraft large enough to carry the Atlas 5, and flew the 32-meter long rocket booster, from Huntsville, Alabama to its final launch location. In addition to the over-length piece, Volga-Dnepr also transported payload fairings and RD-180 engines for the special mission. After unloading the unique cargo piece from the aircraft, ULA moved the rocket into the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center for post-shipment checks. The high profile delivery signaled the start of a new phase…
Nobody wants to see others suffer from hunger. Longtime Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lead officer Vince Reardon decided that he was going to volunteer his spare time during the pandemic to help feed the homeless in New York’s Tompkins Square Park by volunteering with Chilis On Wheels, a non-profit organization that shares meals, but not just any meals. “Chilis on Wheels is dedicated to making veganism accessible to communities in need,” says Reardon, who has been volunteering three to four hours each Saturday during the pandemic to help provide free vegan food “to anyone in need of a warm meal.…
In the midst of a combination crisis; the CODIV-19 pandemic and the unrest throughout the nation, a new enterprise is opening its doors to serve the airport community. The company is ASAK Solutions, and this display of optimism about our future is a shot in the arm for all of us. ASAK Solutions LLC is a veteran-owned and operated, up-and-coming premier ground handler in JFK airport. It was started by two longtime friends, Arnold Sue and Alminko Kojic. They had the idea of starting their own company years ago, and now it has now become a reality. The…
LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP), the private entity operating and redeveloping LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B, announced a June 13th opening date of the state of the art Terminal B Arrivals and Departures Hall, marking the largest milestone in the redevelopment project and signifying that the Terminal B project is approximately 80 percent complete. The completion of this piece of the project is a testament to the dedication of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, private partners and construction workers across New York State who worked tirelessly to bring the vision for this project to life. The Arrivals and…