Jet makes U-turn
New York-bound flight makes U-turn after false positive — A British Airways flight from London to New York was forced to turn back yesterday after U.S. authorities refused to allow one of the passengers to land because he shared a name with someone on a terrorist watch list, authorities said. Flight BA175 was three hours into its journey to Kennedy Airport when it was forced to turn back to London’s Heathrow Airport, where the passenger was met by police.
Woman Sues Waldorf Towers for discrimination — A Manhattan woman who uses a wheelchair has filed a $16-million lawsuit accusing the Waldorf Towers of discriminating against her, saying she was evicted from her luxury suites because of her disability. Rose Gutmacher alleged that she and her daughter, Barbara Girard — who paid $37,000 a month for two suites they rented in November 2003, as short-term tenants — were forced to leave in May and were denied an opportunity to become permanent residents of the hotel on East 50th Street near Park Avenue.
Management shake-up at US Airways — US Airways announced a major management shakeup Wednesday after an architect of its turnaround strategy bolted to a competitor. B. Ben Baldanza, a senior vice president of marketing and planning, is leaving to become president and chief operating officer at Florida-based Spirit Airlines, the largest privately held airline in the United States.
Man wins $3.9 Million airport jackpot — This is one airport experience Edward Frost will remember with fondness. Frost, 49, of Raynham, Mass., won more than $3.9 million Tuesday playing a slot machine at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
US: Avoid Thailand travel — The U.S. told its citizens to avoid traveling to areas of Thailand hardest hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated six southern provinces and killed more than 5,300 people in the country. Travel to Phi Phi island and much of the Khao Lak resort area in Phangnga province remains difficult or impossible due to the damage caused by the tsunami, the U.S. State Department said in an e-mailed statement issued yesterday in Washington.
But it went down so easy — Budget airline easyJet has suspended one of its pilots over suspicions she had been drunk shortly before take-off, the firm says. The unnamed female pilot had been scheduled to fly an Airbus 319 from Berlin’s Schoenefeld airport to Basel, Switzerland, with 120 passengers on board when she was taken off flying duty on suspicion of being over the alcohol limit.