general

US: Airlines resume services as Irma recovery continues

As airports in Florida and southeast US continued their clear up and airlines started to reintroduce service on some routes, Tropical Storm Irma was downgraded to a tropical depression. Miami International said passenger and cargo flights will resume on a limited basis Tuesday, but airlines will not be operating a full service. Orlando International is also targeting a Tuesday resumption of services, but said it could take several days to resume normal operations. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport expects to resume operations from 4am Tuesday morning, but asked passengers to be patient as it works to restore full services. Tampa International said early indications showed minimal damage and expects to restart operations Tuesday or Wednesday.<br/>

US: Maryland governor orders lawsuit over airline noise

Maryland governor Larry Hogan Tuesday ordered the state's top legal official to sue a federal agency over new airline flight routes that he said have made many Maryland families "miserable in their own homes." A lawsuit against the FAA’s NextGen program should include routes for both Baltimore-Washington International and Reagan National, Hogan wrote to attorney general Brian Frosh. "This program has made many Maryland families miserable in their own homes with louder and more frequent flights which now rattle windows and doors," Hogan wrote. A majority of Maryland's population of about 6m lives around the two airports.<br/>

US: Pittsburgh Airport unveils $1.1b terminal modernisation plan

Officials at Pittsburgh International Airport and its managing Allegheny County Airport Authority announced a US$1.1b terminal modernisation plan Tuesday, with construction set to begin in 2019. The new design will create an expanded security checkpoint, the elimination of the airport’s people-mover train, a newly configured international arrivals process, and an improved baggage system. According to ACAA, the plan “eliminates critical points of failure like the train and baggage delivery system.” PIT’s present landside terminal exists at a distance from the airport’s renovated airside gates. After passing through security, passengers must board a people-mover train to reach the airside gates. Similarly, baggage must make the lengthy journey back and forth between the airside gates and the landside terminal.<br/>