The lines, the prices, the anxiety: Can air travel get any worse?
War is raging in the Middle East, passengers are waiting in four-hour security lines, airfares are spiking and, now, a deadly runway collision at LaGuardia Airport has renewed questions about the safety of U.S. air traffic control. All this comes at one of the busiest travel periods of the year....
ICE agents visible at Pittsburgh International AirportVideo
Several U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could be seen at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday, following reports of security checkpoint training sessions the day before. Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesman Bob Kerlik said on Monday that airport officials were not briefed on exact plans for how ICE would operate,...
Plus-size fliers once loved Southwest, now they say it’s fat shaming
Plus-size passengers once raved about Southwest. Now, they say, agents are grilling them about body size in front of other travelers, forcing them to buy extra seats they never needed before or even denying them boarding. Travelers have flooded social media in recent days to express their frustration with Southwest,...
ICE agents deployed at Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport officials confirmed Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were at the airport to receive training to aid Transportation Security Administration workers. Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesman Bob Kerlik said in a statement Monday that airport officials were not briefed on exact plans for how ICE...
ICE to aid airport security amid partial shutdown, border czar saysVideo
Tom Homan, the White House border czar, confirmed Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be deployed to U.S. airports Monday, casting the operation largely as an effort to ease long lines that have caused frustration among travelers during one of the busiest travel seasons. President Donald Trump announced...
Nonprofits, unions and airports rally to feed TSA officers as shutdown drags
Across the country, collections are popping up to help Transportation Security Administration officers who have been without full pay for more than a month due to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security. The charity World Central Kitchen, more accustomed to feeding those in war zones and...
Pennsylvania Turnpike advises NFL Draft travelers to use E-ZPass
Pittsburgh’s NFL Draft is just weeks away, and that means it’s almost time for travelers to come into the Steel City — many via the turnpike. Anyone with E-ZPass can save up to 50% on tolls traveling the Pennsylvania Turnpike and 33% on tolls on the Ohio Turnpike, according to...
Food pantry opens for Pittsburgh International Airport TSA agents
The Pittsburgh International Airport has arranged free meals for Transportation Security Administration agents affected by the government shutdown. Thursday marked the start of an ongoing partnership between the airport and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to provide meals to TSA workers until the shutdown ends. Although the shutdown —...
How to monitor airport security lines at U.S. airports while TSA officers go without pay
Scenes of airport security lines spilling out of terminals may be adding a new layer of stress for travelers as the busy spring break season unfolds. Some airports have seen wait times stretch well past an hour. In recent days, passengers reported waiting up to two hours in line at...
Jet fuel prices and airfares are rising. Travelers are still booking flights, U.S. airlines say
Major U.S. airlines say they are not expecting a significant dent in quarterly profits despite soaring jet fuel costs tied to the war in the Middle East adding hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses. Executives from Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines told investors Tuesday that strong...
Storms cancel more flights as TSA remains under pressure from partial government shutdownVideo
ATLANTA — Thousands of flights across the U.S. were canceled or delayed Monday as powerful storms swept across the eastern half of the country and a partial government shutdown affecting airport security screeners dragged into a second month. The disruptions come at an already challenging time for air travel, in...
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...
