Passengers on an American Airlines regional flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Gainesville, Florida had to don their oxygen masks Thursday as a pressurization issue forced the plane to make a quick but controlled descent. One passenger on the flight posted on social media that the experience was “scary” and that the pictures didn’t do the full scene justice. “The photos cannot capture the burning smell, loud bang or ear pops. Good to be on the ground,” the traveler, who goes by the username @HarrisonHove, said on X, formerly Twitter. An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed the incident and said there were no injuries reported as a result. “American Eagle flight 5916, operated by Piedmont Airlines, from Charlotte (CLT) to Gainesville, Florida (GNV) landed safely in GNV on Thursday, August 10,” the statement said. “While in flight, the crew received an indication of a possible pressurization issue and immediately and safely descended to a lower altitude. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience and thank our team for their professionalism.” In a later social media post, the passenger added that the crew was “exceptional” and “cool under pressure.”<br/>
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The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) claims that American Airlines has removed 40% of its fare inventory from distribution channels used by travel agents and travel management companies following the implementation of new systems with the IATA New Distribution Capability (NDC) technology. ASTA has filed a complaint with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) accusing American Airlines of unfair trade practice, claiming it has caused “substantially higher air ticket prices for consumers and frustrated travel management companies.” ASTA said the change in distribution has meant travel management companies are “unable to fulfill the duty of care owed to business travelers.” American Airlines responded to Skift’s request for comment stating, “American has made huge investments to make travel agencies’ transition to NDC easier.” The airline claimed it was the “only carrier to connect its NDC content to all three global distribution systems – work that was done explicitly at the request of our travel agency partners.”<br/>
A 45-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly disrupted a Malaysian Airlines flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur, which was forced to turn around mid-flight and land back in Sydney International Airport on Monday. “The man is expected to be charged later tonight,” according to a spokesman for the Australian Federal Police. No details of the charges or incident were given. Police said all passengers were evacuated and there was “no impending threat to the community.” “An emergency response plan was enacted, and an evacuation was initiated once it was deemed safe for passengers and crew,” police said. According to several posts on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, a passenger believed to be on the plane said a man “started threatening staff and passengers.” Malaysian Airlines said the flight carrying 194 passengers and five crew members landed safely at 3:47 p.m. local time, about two hours after it took off. “Malaysia Airlines flight MH122 on 14 August 2023 returned to Sydney International Airport due to a disruptive passenger on board. In the interest of safety, the commander of the flight made a decision to return to Sydney,” the airline said. Sydney International Airport said that 32 domestic flights, including 16 inbound and 16 outbound, were canceled with other domestic flights experiencing delays of up to 90 minutes.<br/>