Driverless shuttle proposed to replace parking lot buses at Pittsburgh International Airport
Driverless shuttles could replace traditional parking lot buses at Pittsburgh International Airport under a multimillion-dollar proposal that will enter a public comment period beginning Sunday. Public comments will be accepted on a proposed autonomous vehicle shuttle that would move travelers from parking areas at the Findlay airport to the terminal...
Ahead of Ireland flights, Aer Lingus will join Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day parade
Aer Lingus flights from Pittsburgh to Dublin begin in May, but the airline’s marketing director Lisa Melarkey will be in town this weekend to attend the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Melarkey said Aer Lingus plans special promotions to coincide with the parade. “There’s a really big opportunity for us...
Wildflowers are blooming in the driest place in North America — but not for long
DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — Death Valley, known as the driest place in North America, is teeming with life with a once-in-a-decade blossoming of wildflowers known as a superbloom, transforming a normally brown desert landscape into carpets of gold. Wildflowers bloom across parts of southern California and Nevada at different degrees...
Want to get out of town for the NFL Draft? Head to these long-weekend destinations
Hordes of jersey-clad NFL fans are prepared to descend on Pittsburgh next month. It might be the offseason, but one very big event will be in town April 23-25: the NFL Draft. VisitPittsburgh is estimating that about 500,000 to 700,000 sports fans will attend draft-related events, which means that our...
Stranded travelers share firsthand accounts from the Middle East
Hundreds of thousands of people have been stranded across the Middle East amid the U.S. and Israel’s joint war against Iran. And between swaths of flight cancellations and airspace closures, many are still scrambling for next steps. In a matter of days, the conflict has continued to escalate — particularly...
Spirit drops Orlando service from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
Spirit Airlines is pulling the plug on its long-running Orlando service from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport next month, a move that leaves the Unity airfield without its most popular year-round destination. The discount carrier confirmed Wednesday it has removed the Florida destination from its schedule effective April 15. The following...
Governments scramble to bring citizens home during travel chaos caused by Iran war
PARIS — Governments across the world scrambled to organize the return of their citizens from the Middle East on Wednesday as travel across the region remained heavily disrupted by the widening Iran war. The first flight repatriating French citizens stranded in the Middle East landed in Paris early Wednesday as...
PennDOT implements speed limit, vehicle restrictions ahead of wintry weather
Speed limit and vehicle restrictions will be in place starting early Tuesday morning amid upcoming winter weather in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced the vehicle restrictions Monday, “ahead of freezing precipitation forecast across Pennsylvania.” PennDOT said it is implementing “Tier 1 restrictions” under the commonwealth’s weather event vehicle...
Travelers stranded as Middle East conflict spreads as governments scramble to bring citizens home
LONDON — Global air travel chaos intensified Monday as the U.S. and Israel continued to bombard Iran, which struck back at targets across the Middle East, leaving airports closed and stranding travelers including those in faraway areas who were scheduled to transit through the region. Governments were scrambling to help...
Stranded travelers scramble to make new connections as war shuts much of Middle East to air travel
Hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers scrambled to make new connections and get through to airlines on jammed phone lines after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down much of the Middle East to air travel. Tourists and business travelers crowded hotels and airports, with...
Kristi Noem brings back threat to suspend TSA PreCheck amid shutdown
The federal government may stop TSA PreCheck during the ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday. Noem previously said the department would suspend PreCheck operations last weekend but quickly reversed course and kept the faster, prescreened security lanes open. However, she put the...
Mexico unrest prompts Western Pennsylvanians to rethink travel plans
Ryan O’Hare has been busy at work the last few days. The owner of Voyage Geeks travel agency is a professional travel advisor based in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. The recent unrest due to widespread cartel violence and travel advisory level warnings in Mexico has had a lot of clients reaching...
House rejects bill requiring aircraft locator systems to prevent midair collisions like last year’s
The House failed to approve a bill Tuesday that was crafted after last year’s tragic midair collision near Washington, D.C., to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems to prevent such crashes. The collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter killed 67 people in...
Pittsburgh tourists find safety in Puerto Vallarta resorts amid unrest and violence
Barbara Melone saw “huge, black, billowing” clouds of smoke from her eighth-floor balcony at the Sunset Plaza Beach Resort & Spa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, at the start of the week. “It was a normal day, and we started realizing there were all these fires,” said Melone, 77, who grew...
Breeze Airways to begin nonstop Myrtle Beach flightsVideo
Pittsburgh International Airport continues to expand its roster of destinations. The latest addition comes from budget carrier Breeze Airways, which will launch seasonal nonstop service to Myrtle Beach beginning July 3. “We are excited to now offer Myrtle Beach as a destination for our Pittsburgh guests,” Breeze Airways founder and...
TSA says PreCheck still operational after previous announcement of suspension during funding fight
DALLAS — The Transportation Security Administration said Sunday that its PreCheck program would remain operational despite an earlier announcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that the airport security service was being suspended during the partial government shutdown. ” As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case...
Pittsburgh airport welcomes 5 new dining spots
Travelers who have Pittsburgh International Airport as part of their commute now can now dine at five new airside concessions. At a grand opening on Tuesday, Pittsburgh’s airport became one of more than 50 airports across the United States, Canada and Brazil to house dining options operated by SSP America,...
Nemacolin named top hotel in Pennsylvania, 28th in the U.S. in annual report
Nemacolin, the exclusive Fayette County resort known for its luxury accommodations, fine dining and expansive grounds, was named Pennsylvania’s top hotel Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report. The Laurel Highlands destination earned the No. 28 spot nationwide — one of only two businesses in Pennsylvania to crack the top...
Pentagon let CBP use anti-drone laser before FAA closed El Paso airspace
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to use an anti-drone laser earlier this week, leading the Federal Aviation Administration to suddenly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to...
Pittsburgh Marathon announces partnership with Reykjavík Marathon in Iceland
The Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon has announced a partnership with Iceland’s Íslandsbanki Reykjavík Marathon as “sister marathons” In an collaborative Instagram post last week, the marathons said the new partnership is “connecting two iconic cities through the shared passion of running.” View this post on Instagram A post shared...
Trevi Fountain fee goes into effect as Rome seeks to manage tourist flow at celebrated water feature
ROME — Tourists hoping to get close to the Trevi Fountain had to pay 2 euros ($2.35) starting Monday as the city of Rome inaugurated a new fee structure to help raise money and control crowds at the one of the world’s most celebrated waterworks. The first tourists to pass...
Investigator describes intense air traffic at time of deadly midair collision near D.C.Video
WASHINGTON — The air traffic controller who was managing numerous aircraft around Reagan National Airport felt a “little overwhelmed” just a few minutes before an American Airlines jet collided midair with an Army helicopter near Washington D.C., killing 67 people last year, an investigator said Tuesday at a National Transportation...
Passengers without Real ID soon have to pay fee before flying
Starting Sunday, travelers without a Real ID or Real ID-compliant document such as a passport will be required to pay a $45 fee to verify their identity before passing security at TSA checkpoints. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Transportation Security Administration, is enacting the fee. This move...
What travelers can expect as Southwest Airlines introduces assigned seats
Southwest Airlines passengers made their final boarding-time scrambles for seats on Monday as the carrier prepared to end the open-seating system that distinguished it from other airlines for more than a half‑century. Starting Tuesday, customers on Southwest flights will have assigned seats and the option of paying more to get...
More than 11,400 flights canceled as massive winter storm sweeps across country
NASHVILLE — A massive winter storm made for a brutal travel day Sunday, with widespread cancellations and delays at some of the nation’s busiest airports. Widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million people — more than half the U.S. population — in a path stretching from the...
