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.
With thousands of commercial aircraft in idle condition or in short- or longer-term storage due to the COVID-19 crisis, airlines and MROs are being forced to adapt their workflows to keep aircraft in healthy condition indefinitely until operations can begin returning to normal. Approximately 9,000 aircraft are now in short-term parked status and more than 3,000 aircraft have gone through the process of being put in storage. For American Airlines, which now has approximately 300 idled aircraft parked across its network in Mobile, Alabama; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Roswell, New Mexico, the situation builds on what the airline was…
While running through my usual roster of aviation data and regulatory updates, I came across a website which went chapter and verse on the route changes that almost every airline in the United States is planning to make in the face of greatly reduced traffic. As COVID-19 has been a once-in-a-lifetime health crisis for the political leaders, and health providers with new rules, a new generation of virus, with little reliable information to act on; the scope and duration has also been a hammer-blow to the aviation industry. The airlines are in a state of flux and if the aviation…
Transportation Security Administration officers are following CDC advice and staying home when they are not working at the airport, and a few of them are making good use of their time by keeping busy sewing masks for family, friends and first responders on the front lines of the coronavirus. Supervisory TSA officer Susan Schultz, who works at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, has sewn more than 300 masks, sometimes working until midnight to meet what has become a growing demand for masks in her community. And Justine Waldron, a TSA officer who works at Barnstable Municipal Airport on Cape…
The PANYNJ honors Women Entrepreneurs every year in some meaningful way. This year for Women’s History Month in March the program was to feature an installation at the beautiful and historic LaGuardia Marine Terminal. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift in priorities to keep the travelling public and airport employees safe, they decided to eliminate the physical installation, however they shared with Metropolitan Airport News the content that would have been up for all to enjoy. The women selected to be featured are from Queens and deeply involved in the community as well as their businesses.
With so many people in New Jersey hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Transportation Security Administration officers at Newark Liberty International Airport hand-crafted get well cards for individuals in isolation as well as cards of encouragement for the medical staff who are tending to those patients at Community Medical Center in Toms River, New Jersey. With the passenger flow into the airport down to a trickle, TSA officers had some time between the screening of travelers to make get well cards. Cards of support were also created for nurses, doctors and other health professionals on the frontlines of the pandemic.…
JetBlue today announced it will temporarily consolidate operations in five major metropolitan areas in the U.S between April 15 and June 10. The revised schedules are aimed at reducing excess flying during a time of unprecedented low demand for air travel while maintaining a critical level of service across the airline’s network for those who absolutely must fly. “We face new challenges every day and can’t hesitate to take the steps necessary to reduce our costs amidst dramatically falling demand so we can emerge from this unprecedented time as a strong company for our customers and crewmembers,” said Scott Laurence, head of…
Airfreight rates for medical supplies have hit more than $13 per kg, causing some forwarders to claim that freighter airlines are “profiteering” from the Covid-19 crisis. But many medical supplies are no longer getting through to end-users, following new Chinese regulations. On 31 March, the Chinese government responded to complaints from their trading partners that many of the medical supplies arriving were sub-standard and said all medical suppliers in China had to be certified so poor products were not exported. Now, Chinese shippers must provide “a declaration that products for export have a medical device product registration certificate, which meets the quality…
Delta, American, United, Southwest and JetBlue, among others, met a 5 p.m. ET April 3rd deadline to apply to the Treasury Department for payroll grants, loans or both. The airlines didn’t initially disclose exactly how much nor which type of aid they are each seeking, though it appears most are only seeking a portion of the $25 billion designated for direct payroll grants, and not another $25 billion in loans that are available. To qualify for the loans, the airlines must show that private credit is not an option, and U.S. airlines collectively have borrowed $12.5 billion from banks in…
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and its members renewed their call to governments to take urgent measures to ensure that vital air cargo supply lines remain open, efficient and effective. “Air cargo is a vital partner in the global fight against COVID-19. But we are still seeing examples of cargo flights filled with life-saving medical supplies and equipment grounded due to cumbersome and bureaucratic processes to secure slots and operating permits. These delays are endangering lives. All governments need to step up to keep global supply chains open,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. The COVID-19…
Now more than ever, Amazon’s fulfillment, delivery, and physical store networks play a critical role in serving customers. In these unprecedented times, we remain committed to the health and safety of our employees, partners, and the customers we serve. “We’ve changed our logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing, and third-party seller processes to prioritize stocking and delivering essential items like household staples, sanitizers, baby formula, and medical supplies,” Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos said in a recent email to all employees. “We’re providing a vital service to people everywhere, especially to those, like the elderly, who are most vulnerable. People are…