The TSA’s PreCheck program continues to expand to more airlines. The agency announced Thursday that seven airlines have been added. The newly eligible carriers – a mix of big and small, foreign and domestic – are Copa Airlines, Dominican Wings, InterCaribbean Airways, Silver Airways, Singapore Airlines, Swift Air and Turkish Airlines. The additions grow the total number of carriers eligible for PreCheck to 37. PreCheck, which costs $85 for a five-year membership, gives approved passengers access to expedited security lanes at more than 180 US airports. Travellers using those lanes can keep their shoes and light jackets on at airport checkpoints. Laptops and liquids (provided they meet TSA guidelines) can remain in carry-on bags. Travelers can join the program by providing background information and fingerprints for background check.<br/>
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An American Airlines plane and a United plane clipped wings Wednesday evening at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport as both were taxiing from separate gates. American Airlines flight 2675 was stationary at the time and waiting to taxi to the gate when the wing of a United plane clipped it. No crew members or passengers on either flight were injured in the incident, according to representatives of each airline. The American flight was arriving out of John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. United Airlines flight 898 was traveling from Austin to Houston. Both planes were Boeing 737s. The United plane struck the American Airlines plane while one was pulling in and the other was backing out, airport officials reportedly said.<br/>
Henry Amador-Batten, a gay father who was accused of inappropriately touching his son by a United Airlines crew member, said that United's apology doesn't make up for the trauma of the incident. "Families like ours that are built by choice and by love are fragile families," he said. "It doesn't take more than an allegation like this to involve an agency that comes and takes your child." Amador-Batten was detained for about an hour at a US airport on Friday, May 19, after a crew member on a flight from New Jersey, to North Carolina accused him of inappropriately touching his son during the flight. Amador-Batten, 52, was returning from Puerto Rico with his son Benjamin, 5, after travelling to the US territory to visit his ill father. His father died during Amador-Batten's visit last week. After Amador-Batten disembarked from the plane, the police told him that a flight attendant had made a complaint that his hand and arm were "too close to the child's genitals." It was an accusation he called one of his worst nightmares.<br/>
Air New Zealand will operate 52 extra one-way flights to help get Ed Sheeran fans to and from Auckland and Dunedin next March. This will mean an extra 7000 seats for fans of the Grammy Award winner. The airline will operate 35 additional one-way services between Dunedin and Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington as well as 17 extra one-way flights between Auckland and Christchurch and Wellington, using a mix of the airline's A320 jets and ATR aircraft, in the days leading up to and after the singer's two Dunedin shows and three Auckland performances. <br/>