Tighten air cargo security: report
Tighten air cargo security: report — The Bush administration needs to strengthen the security of domestic air cargo, Congressional investigators said in a report released on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Virgin mulls bid for bankrupt U.S. airline — Virgin is considering making an offer for America’s recently bankrupted low-cost operator Independence Air in a move which would finally allow Sir Richard Branson to break into America’s budget airline market. (The Independent)
Lawmakers berate Amtrak board over firing — Days after Amtrak’s board of directors fired the railroad’s president, the chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees Amtrak said Tuesday that the board might have acted illegally because it lacked a quorum. (The New York Times)
FEMA to stop funding hotel rooms Dec. 1 — FEMA will stop paying for hotel rooms for most evacuees of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Dec. 1, officials said Tuesday as the agency pushed victims to find more stable housing. (AP)
Delta pilots rally for contract — Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots put on a united front Tuesday in defense of their contract from the company’s attempt to void the agreement in bankruptcy court and impose deep pay and benefit cuts. The pilots insist that their strike threat is not a bluff. (AP)
Runway near misses prompt U.S. safety concern — Aviation safety investigators, dissatisfied with U.S. government efforts to improve runway safety, urgently pressed regulators Tuesday to accelerate development of new technology to reduce hundreds of aircraft near collisions each year. (Reuters)
Heart failure caused Disney death — A Uganda U.N. diplomat’s son who collapsed on a Walt Disney World ride June 13 died of a heart abnormality, according to the autopsy report released Tuesday. (USA Today)
In ‘smart’ hotel rooms, everything is just right — New computer systems which connect individual hotel rooms to network servers can now keep track of guests’ preferences and change the room conditions automatically. (International Herald Tribune)
Accused drunken driver rides around in secure area at airport — A Tinton Falls, N.J. man faces drunken driving and criminal trespass charges for allegedly driving onto a secure airfield at Newark Liberty International Airport, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey could face a federal fine over the incident, which authorities consider a major security breach. (AP)
New Orleans asks more home to stay — City officials lifted “look-and-leave” restrictions in two more New Orleans neighborhoods this week in a bid to coax families and businesses from exile after Hurricane Katrina. (USA Today)
Dangerous storms head to Northeast — Residents in the northeastern United States braced Wednesday for strong thunderstorms that are rolling their way after spawning tornadoes in five states and causing two deaths. (CNN)
China reports first three human cases of bird flu — China reported its first three confirmed human cases of bird flu Wednesday as the government raced to vaccinate billions of chickens, ducks and other poultry in a massive effort to stop the spread of the virus. (AP)
FAA hit on Logan near-collision — he National Transportation Safety Board, citing a near-collision of two passenger jets at Logan International Airport in June, upbraided federal aviation officials yesterday, saying it is unacceptable that pilots still don’t get direct warnings about impending collisions from ground radar systems. (The Boston Globe)
Judge OKs pay cuts at Northwest — A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved temporary pay cuts for about 28,000 workers at Northwest Airlines, including an involuntary 19-percent pay cut for the carrier’s ground workers.
Carrie Charney, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.