Carnival cruises to nowhere
Carnival takes cruise to nowhere –
After five days on the 855-foot “fun ship” Ecstasy, hundreds of passengers disembarked in Galveston on Saturday seething with anger at Carnival Cruise Lines. Many interviewed said they were tricked into wasting money and vacation time puttering around the Caribbean on a disabled ship.
Report: holes in aviation security — Despite a huge investment in security, the American aviation system remains vulnerable to attack by Al Qaeda and other jihadist terrorist groups, with noncommercial planes and helicopters offering terrorists particularly tempting targets, a confidential government report concludes.
Airports push for US aid — Airports are pushing the federal government to spend $5 billion on a new luggage screening system that could more accurately check for bombs, speed up passenger lines and save taxpayers billions of dollars. But the Bush administration has cut back drastically on funding the new system.
‘Living wage’ threatens car San Jose rental companies — A three-year contract extension for car rental companies at Mineta San Jose is in doubt because of efforts to put employees under the city’s living wage policy. The ripple effect could have a significant impact on airport revenues. If employees get the city mandated raises, the 12 car rental companies could be on the hook for at least $6 million — and maybe as much as $12 million, airport officials say.
Pilots: gun certification too slow — While the pace of training and deployment of armed pilots on commercial flights has picked up, supporters of the program say the Bush administration still is making it unnecessarily difficult for crews to take guns into the cockpit. Pilots who monitor the program estimate that between 4,000 and 4,500 have been trained and deputized to carry guns since the Federal Flight Deck Officer program began in April 2003.
Jumbo jet gets stuck in asphalt — A China-bound jetliner carrying 313 passengers became stuck in some asphalt at LAX early Sunday after the pilot apparently made too sharp a turn and ventured off the taxiway. The incident, which occurred about 1:55 a.m., did not cause any injuries, according to Nancy Castles, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles World Airports.
Contributing: John Frenaye