Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it's beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119m people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day, which would top the previous holiday-season high set in 2019. The two weekends on either side of Christmas look to be some of the most crowded times on the road and at airports. Trade group Airlines for America also foresees record travel, saying it expected U.S. airlines to carry 54m passengers during a 19-day period that started Thursday and ends Monday, Jan. 6. The number would represent a 6% increase over last year. A government shutdown that could start as soon as Saturday would likely be too close to the holidays to immediately affect flights and airport operations, but that might change if a shutdown dragged on. What will be the busiest travel days? Airlines expect to have their busiest days on Friday and Sunday, and on Dec. 26, Dec. 27 and Dec. 29. Flight traffic is expected to be light on both Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The slowest U.S. air-travel day this year — by a wide margin — was Thanksgiving Day.<br/>
general
The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it is temporarily barring drone flights over 22 critical infrastructure locations in New Jersey. The FAA said the decision was made at the request of federal security partners after the agency barred drones over two locations in New Jersey in November. A frenzy of concern about drones in New Jersey and surrounding states has prompted a dramatic spike in the number of people in the area pointing lasers at airplanes flying overhead, which is illegal and can be dangerous, the FAA said Wednesday. U.S. agencies have repeatedly said the spike in drone sightings does not pose national security risks and that they appear to be mostly aircraft, stars or hobbyist drones.<br/>
The boss of Gatwick Airport is urging those who receive drones for Christmas to read the rules before flying, on the sixth anniversary of when the airport was brought to a standstill following a drone sighting over the runway. It comes as 368 unauthorised drone sightings were reported within flight restriction zone (FRZ) in West Sussex between 1 January and 13 December 2024. The National Police Chiefs' Council has told the BBC that plans were being worked on for police officers to have the power to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone misusing a drone. Mark Johnston, the airport's chief operating officer, says investigating reported drone sightings causes disruption and is a "drain on resources". He says there is "usually no malice" behind the incidents. "The impact is huge and safety is our number one priority. We can't take any chances," he said. The airport is advising drone pilots: "When you fly a drone, it's your responsibility to be aware of the rules that are in place. This will allow you to ensure that everyone stays safe. It's a criminal act to break what is classed as a no-fly zone, as lives can be put at risk and you could be prosecuted."<br/>
China is adding yet another superlative to its aviation roster: the world’s largest airport on a man-made island. Currently under construction off the country’s northeast coast, the Dalian Jinzhou Bay International Airport will eventually cover a 20-square-kilometer (7.7-square-mile) island with four runways and a 900,000-square-meter (969,000 sq ft) passenger terminal, according to an airport statement. Its operators aim to handle 80m passengers per year across 540,000 flights, with the first phase due to open in 2035. “The country’s largest offshore airport is rising slowly from the sea level like the sunrise in the east,” reads a post by Dalian Jinzhou Bay International on Chinese social media platform WeChat. Once completed, it will become the world’s largest airport on an artificial island, surpassing both Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and Japan’s Kansai Airport (KIX). “There have been great challenges to the construction,” Li Xiang, chief engineer of Dalian Airport Construction and Development Co., Ltd., told state-run local media in October, “as the project has complex geological conditions, high drilling difficulty and high demand in quality with a tight construction schedule.”<br/>
Background music is no longer an afterthought at many airports, which are hiring local musicians and carefully curating playlists to help lighten travelers’ moods. London’s Heathrow Airport built a stage to showcase emerging British performers for the first time this summer. The program was so successful the airport hopes to bring it back in 2025. Nashville International Airport has five stages that host more than 800 performances per year, from country musicians to jazz combos. In the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana International Airport greets passengers with live merengue music. Airports are also carefully curating their recorded playlists. Detroit Metro Airport plays Motown hits in a tunnel connecting its terminals. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas has a playlist of local artists compiled by an area radio station. Singapore’s Changi Airport commissioned a special piano accompaniment for its giant digital waterfall. Music isn’t a new phenomenon in airport terminals. Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports,” an album released in 1978, helped define the ambient music genre. It’s minimalist and designed to calm. But Barry McPhillips, the head of international creative for Mood Media, which provides music for airports and other public spaces, said technology is enabling background music to be less generic and more tailored to specific places or times of day. Mood Media – formerly known as Muzak – develops playlists to appeal to business travelers or families depending on who’s in the airport at any given time. It might program calmer music in the security line but something more energizing in the duty-free store.<br/>
Vaeridion, a German aviation firm developing an electric microliner as the aviation industry makes a push to cut emissions, said it had raised E14m. The company, founded in 2021 by former Airbus managers Ivor van Dartel and Sebastian Seemann, said the money raised would be used in its plans to develop an electric microliner which will offer commercial flights by 2030. Its plane will carry up to nine passengers along with crew members, and is aimed at short-haul flights in Europe for distances of up to 500km. "With the Microliner, we are addressing both the need for zero-emission travel alternatives and the demand for enhanced regional connectivity," said Vaeridion CEO van Dartel. Earlier this month, airline trade body IATA's head Willie Walsh said the aviation industry was not moving fast enough to reach targets for producing and using sustainable aviation fuel, with the sector aiming for net zero emissions by 2050.<br/>