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Politics

The Political Calculations Behind DeSantis’s Migrant Flights North

The Political Calculations Behind DeSantis’s Migrant Flights North

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, this week surpassed his Texas counterpart Greg Abbott by sending two planeloads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts — the culmination of a months-long campaign to troll essentially liberal cities and states by displacing many asylum seekers into these communities.

The airlift, a DeSantis spokeswoman said in a statement, “was part of the state’s relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to places of refuge.”

She added, “States like Massachusetts, New York and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals whom they have invited to our country by encouraging illegal immigration through their designation as ‘protected states’ and supporting the policies of the create an open border for the Biden administration.”

Of course, there is no such “open border”. Many of these migrants apply US asylum laws, which give them the opportunity for a court hearing to determine whether they are eligible to remain in the United States, as thousands did during the Trump administration and the Obama administration before that. And in most cases, they were arrested by federal law enforcement officers or turned themselves in so DeSantis was able to put them on planes in the first place.

“Playing politics with people’s lives is what governors like George Wallace did during segregation,” said Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat. “Ron DeSantis is trying to earn George Wallace’s legacy.” Moulton was referring to the “Reverse Freedom Rides” of 1962, when segregationists made false promises of jobs and housing to entice black Southerners to move north. Moulton, who briefly ran for president in 2020, generally accused Republicans of using immigration as “political football.”

The deeper problem is this: Congress has spent decades failing to revise the country’s immigration laws, which both parties recognize are utterly inconsistent with what is happening along the US-Mexico border. They differ greatly only in the proposed remedies.

But the political calculations for DeSantis and Abbott are pretty straightforward. Immigration is a powerful motivational issue for Republican-based voters, nationally, and particularly in border states like Arizona and Texas.

My colleague Astead Herndon discusses this topic on the latest episode of his podcast, The Run-Up. It’s a deep dive on the 10th anniversary of the so-called Republican autopsy of the 2012 election, in which GOP insiders called for a complete rethink of their party’s strategy on immigration and Latino voters.

As DeSantis surely knows — and he’s by all accounts a shrewd politician who tuned his ear to the GOP base’s id — Donald Trump basically did the opposite of what that autopsy recommended. During his 2016 presidential bid and long after, he made frequent and aggressive political use of Latino migrants, labeling many of them “criminals” and “rapists” during his presidential announcement at Trump Tower.

And DeSantis, who is likely to roll for re-election in the fall, is busy amassing an impressive war chest for purposes that remain both obscure and obvious. For months he’s been quietly courting Trump donors on the pretense of including her in his campaign for governor, while making sure never to stick his head too far over the parapet — lest Trump tries to steal him from his proverbial ones to slap shoulders.

Rick Tyler, a former adviser to Senator Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign, said the DeSantis flights to Martha’s Vineyard were “maybe” smart politics in the context of a Republican primary, but he added, “I find it cynical to use real people as political.” Stunt figures for positioning in a presidential chess game.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed the Texas and Florida governors for deliberately trying to create “chaos and confusion” in a way that was “disrespectful of humanity.” She said Fox News was notified in advance, but the White House was not.

“It’s a political ploy,” she said. “That’s what we’re seeing from governors, especially Republican governors. It’s a cruel, inhumane way of treating people who are fleeing Communism, people who are – and we’re not just talking about people, we’re talking about children, we’re talking about families.”

A report in The Vineyard Gazette, a local newspaper, reports how the migrants arrived on the island and were greeted by “a coalition of emergency management officials, faith groups, nonprofit organizations and county and city officials” who organized food and shelter for the new arrivals.

Other Democrat-run enclaves like Washington, DC and New York City have asked the federal government for help processing and housing the thousands of migrants that DeSantis and Abbott have theatrically foisted on them. Last week, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency for the nearly 10,000 migrants busted there from Texas. Eric Adams, her counterpart in New York, said Wednesday that the city’s emergency shelter system “is nearing breaking point.”

On Thursday morning, two buses dropped off a group of 101 migrants outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ home – a poisoned political chalice sent by Abbott, who tweeted, “We’re sending migrants into their backyard to ask the Biden administration to do its job.” & secure the border.”

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As an indicator of how strongly Republicans believe this issue is among their constituents, even Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a relatively dovish man who has taken a stand against Trump over his bogus stolen election claims in 2020, is now chiming in. Ducey, who rejected strong pressure from Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, to run for the Senate, is said to harbor presidential ambitions of his own.

The Massachusetts press described DeSantis’ move as a challenge to Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican whose future plans remain in flux. Baker, a moderate Northeast in the mold of previous Bay State GOP governors like Mitt Romney and Bill Weld, would have little hope of a presidential primary against DeSantis or, for that matter, Trump.

Trolling is a novel political tactic. But the general phenomenon of migrant distribution around the country is not entirely new, as my colleague Zolan Kanno-Youngs has written. As the Obama administration faced a tide of unaccompanied minors flooding facilities along the border in places like McAllen, Texas, the Department of Health and Human Services housed thousands of the children in cities across the country.

And after the protest movement in Syria turned into a vicious civil war in 2011, many Republican governors began opposing the housing of refugees in their states.

Trump also seized on this issue, calling for “a total and complete ban on the entry of Muslims into the United States until our country’s officials can figure out what’s going on” — and then attempted to implement that policy in one of his first steps as president .

Gil Kerlikowske, a former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner in the Obama administration, woke up Thursday morning to find border officials following him to his home on Martha’s Vineyard.

Kerlikowske learned that migrants had been dropped off on the island when he went to the barber’s on Thursday morning and overheard people asking why the United States was unable to secure the Southwest border.

He reminded other customers that even during the George W. Bush administration, thousands of migrants crossed the border.

“It just shows the ignorance of DeSantis,” Kerlikowske said, advising the governor to pressure members of Florida’s congressional delegation to pass new immigration laws instead. “If he wanted to highlight where the problem is, he should have sent her home to Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.”

President Biden has been pushed back from his left because some stakeholders say he is continuing Trump’s immigration policies. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union criticized Biden after a Reuters report revealed the government had asked Mexico to take in more migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela as part of a policy introduced during the coronavirus pandemic.

Christina Pushaw, a DeSantis campaign spokeswoman, said, “The governor has spoken publicly for months about transporting illegal migrants to sanctuaries.” She pointed out that in this year’s state budget, DeSantis received $12 million from the Florida Legislature for the transfers had requested.

“But what we didn’t know in the campaign was that the goal was going to be Martha’s Vineyard or that it was going to happen yesterday,” Pushaw said. “We learned that from media reports.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Peter Baker contributed coverage.

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Business

Most cost-effective airline tickets? How to save cash on flights and airfare

Cheapest airline tickets? How to save money on flights and airfare

There are many ways to save money on flights.

But booking airfares on a specific day of the week is not one of them, according to data from Google Flights.

Booking midweek – and especially around midnight on Tuesdays – is often cited as the best time to buy flights. But over the past five years, U.S. airfares bought on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays were, on average, just 1.9% cheaper than airfares bought over the weekend, according to Google Flights.

“If your trip is just a few weeks away, don’t wait until Tuesday – book your flight now in case the price goes up,” James Byers, Google Flights Group Product Manager, wrote in a published blog post yesterday.

Strategies that work

While the day of the week travelers book doesn’t matter much, the day they fly does, according to research from Google Flights examining five years of historical flight data from August 1, 2017 to August 1, 2022 Has.

“On average, flights departing on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday were 12% cheaper than departing on the weekend,” Byers wrote. “If you exclude international destinations, the savings potential increases to 20%.”

Travelers looking to save money should avoid flying on Sundays, according to Google Flights.

Westend61 | Getty Images

Another common strategy — early booking — also works, according to the data. For domestic flights to the US, airfares were lowest between three and eight weeks before departure, with prices bottoming out 44 days in advance, according to the study.

On average, non-stop flights cost about 20% more than connecting flights, according to Google Flights, but flights with stopovers also increase the risk of disruptions.

An Instagram poll by travel insurance company World Nomads found that more than 1 in 3 respondents spent up to $250 on flights, meals or hotels due to flight delays or cancellations this summer, while 12% said they spent between $500 and $1,000 having spent US dollars.

More savings opportunities

Travelers with flexible flight days can use Google Flights’ “date grid” feature to quickly find the cheapest departure and arrival dates in a given week.

If you want to travel for a certain period of time – let’s say two weeks – but are flexible in terms of time, you can also use the “Price Graph” function to see the cheapest flight times.

Price tracking also eliminates the need to keep searching to price-check a desired route. Find the route once, click the Track Fares button and Google Flights will email you notifications of fare changes.

‘Best times’ to book

Based on its historical data, Google Flights also suggests the “best times” to book flights for peak travel and popular routes.

Travelers looking to save money on flights to Europe are advised to plan as early as possible, while summer vacationers can plan weeks in advance instead of months.

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Business

American Airways to make use of nonunion pilots for some check flights, drawing criticism

American Airlines to use nonunion pilots for some test flights, drawing criticism

American Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft

Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto via Getty Images

American Airlines will no longer use unionized pilots to conduct certain test flights this month. A move that the Aviation Union argues would undermine the independence of these reviews.

As of Thursday, American will only hire non-union corporate pilots to test aircraft that are in long-term storage or that have recently undergone extensive maintenance before customers fly them. Previously, a group of specially trained union pilots carried out the duties together with non-union corporate pilots.

That union testing pilot group had shrunk from 24 in 2016 to around six when some left the union to become the company’s technical pilots, retired, or returned to airborne passengers, American said.

“Over the past five years American has switched our test flight to these experienced pilots and fleet experts to better cope with the unpredictability of test flights that are dictated by completion of maintenance and not on a set schedule,” said American Airlines spokeswoman Sarah Jantz .

But the Allied Pilots Association, which represents around 15,000 American pilots, is against the measure.

“The foundation of AA’s strong safety culture has been a commitment to ensuring that independent, protected, and intimidated pilots conduct these critical safety clearance flights versus management pilots who may have a conflict of interest,” said Eric Ferguson, captain of American Airlines and APA President said in a February 19 message to members. “Any step taken to crack this foundation will face the greatest opposition from APA.”

The union did not say that there were imminent or specific safety risks or that the procedures did not meet federal standards.

American said that its corporate pilots have already performed most of these flights and that they received the same specialized training as union test pilots.

“In April we will centralize this flying in accordance with the collective agreement and transfer it completely to our fleet captains and technical pilots,” said the American spokeswoman Jantz. “It is important that our expectations and standards do not change with this transition. We will continue to conduct maintenance-related flight reviews beyond FAA requirements with the same training and procedures and checklists.”

Americans said it was discussing with the union how they could involve their pilots in this type of flying. Union-represented airline pilots will continue to fly planes after being released from short-term camp before passengers fly on them.

Jantz said the number of test flights or the bar to meet them won’t change.

“All aircraft that are removed from storage must be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s maintenance manual and applicable FAA regulations and airworthiness guidelines,” FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said in a statement.

American said Monday that it plans to deploy most of the planes it parked during the pandemic in the second quarter to meet rising demand for travel.

The Allied Pilots Association has previously raised concerns about the flight test program, including to the Transportation Department’s watchdog in 2017, claiming there is a “culture of security complaint suppression”.

In July 2018, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation said it had conducted an audit that found that a Federal Aviation Administration inspector had “no objectivity” in his review of the US security program.

The FAA said it had completed six of the watchdog’s seven recommendations, except for one, requiring changes to be made to how inspectors assess objectivity to include potential issues such as the length of time they check the same airline. The FAA requested an extension through August.

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World News

Glynn S. Lunney Dies at 84; Oversaw NASA Flights From Mission Management

Glynn S. Lunney Dies at 84; Oversaw NASA Flights From Mission Control

Glynn S. Lunney, NASA’s flight director, who played an important role in the American space program and was hailed for his leadership role in the rescue of three Apollo 13 astronauts when their spacecraft was rocked by an explosion on its way to the moon in 1970, died on March 19 at his home in Clear Lake, Texas. He was 84 years old.

The cause was stomach cancer, said his son Shawn.

Mr. Lunney (rhymes with “sunny”), who joined NASA in 1958 and became its chief flight director in 1968, worked outside of mission control in Houston developing the sophisticated procedures for the flight of Apollo 11 and sent Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on their groundbreaking flight Journey to the moon in July 1969.

He led the mission in July 1975, during which an Apollo spacecraft with three astronauts docked with a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with two men. Each vehicle carried equipment that would one day allow another connection if an international rescue mission were needed. The Americans and Russians conducted joint experiments and exchanged commemorative gifts, which became a step towards cooperation between nations in space aboard the International Space Station.

But Mr. Lunney was particularly remembered for his takeover efforts in the dramatic rescue of Apollo 13 astronauts James L. Lovell Jr., Fred W. Haise Jr., and John L. Swigert Jr.

Together with three other flight directors and numerous NASA scientists and astronauts in the command center, he worked out the complex plan that would enable them to return to Earth.

Mr. Lunney looked back on the effort as “the best job I ever did or could hope for”.

“We’ve built a quarter of a million-mile highway, paved by decision, choice, and innovation after another, and repeated for nearly four days to get the crew home safely,” he recalled in an Oral NASA history interview.

“This space highway led the crippled ship back to planet Earth, where people from every continent came together in support of these three endangered explorers. It was an inspiring and emotional feeling that reminded us again of our common humanity. “

Since the astronauts’ command module had been crippled by the explosion, mission control instructed them to use their undamaged lunar lander as a lifeboat to carry them home.

The lander was originally designed to descend from the orbiting Apollo 13 ship to the moon with Mr. Swigert on board, and then return to the mothership with Mr. Lovell and Mr. Haise to travel home. But the Houston ground team, working under heavy time pressure and with no blueprint for this kind of exertion, improvised a way for them to get a safe impact in the Pacific huddled in the lunar lander.

Mr. Lunney was among the NASA officials who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Richard M. Nixon to the rescue. In the 1995 film “Apollo 13”, Marc McClure played Mr. Lunney.

Glynn Stephen Lunney was born on November 27, 1936 in Old Forge, Pennsylvania to William Lunney, a miner and welder, and Helen Glynn Lunney.

As a teenager, Glynn was fascinated by flight and filled his room with model airplanes. He graduated from the University of Detroit (now the University of Detroit Mercy) with a degree in aerospace engineering after serving on a collaborative program in which he spent the time between his studies and working for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the Forerunner of NASA, split.

He became a protégé of Christopher C. Kraft Jr., NASA’s first chief flight director.

Mr. Lunney was the space agency’s fourth flight director. In this role, he was responsible for leading teams of air traffic controllers, research and engineering professionals, and support professionals around the world who make decisions during spaceflight.

Among the numerous successes of his NASA career, Mr. Lunney was senior flight director for Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo flight, and Apollo 10, the dress rehearsal for the first moon landing.

He retired from NASA in 1985 as manager of the space shuttle program, but continued to lead human space operations through senior positions in private industry.

In addition to his son Shawn, Mr. Lunney survived his wife, Marilyn Jean (Kurtz) Lunney, who was a nurse at a forerunner NASA research center. two other sons, Glynn Jr. and Bryan; his daughter Jenifer Brayley; his brothers Bill and Gerry; his sister Carol; and 12 grandchildren.

Astronaut Ken Mattingly, who was supposed to fly on the Apollo 13 mission but was removed from it after being exposed to German measles, was one of the many space agency figures working on the plan to rescue the Apollo 13 astronauts.

He remembered how, immediately after the explosion, “nobody knew what the hell was going on”.

“And Glynn came in, took over this mess,” he recalled in “Voices From the Moon” (2009), an astronaut oral history followed by Andrew Chaikin and Victoria Kohl.

“And he just calmed the situation down,” Mattingly said. “I’ve never seen such an exceptional example of leadership in my entire career. Absolutely great.

“No wartime general or admiral could ever be more splendid than Glynn that night,” he added. “He and he alone brought all the scared people together.”

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Business

Say goodbye to $30 aircraft tickets. The period of dirt-cheap flights is ending

Say goodbye to $30 plane tickets. The era of dirt-cheap flights is ending

Revelers flock to the beach to celebrate the spring break while coronavirus disease (COVID-19) broke out in Miami Beach, Florida, United States on March 6, 2021.

Marco Bello | Reuters

Are you thinking about finally going on vacation? You’re not alone.

Millions of Americans, many of whom have been cooped up for a year, make their way and go to heaven as more people get vaccinated against Covid-19. President Joe Biden said last week that all American adults will be eligible for a vaccine by May.

As more and more people become confident that the Covid-19 threat is subsiding, the harder it will be to find the double-digit lowest fares airlines have been offering when they desperately searched for planes. Hotel prices are also rising.

According to Kayak, a travel search website, searches for summer travel have increased 27% every week since Biden’s announcement, and airfares for the top 100 most searched US destinations have increased 7% month-over-month.

“Domestic fares are rising. While there are still discounts, they are no longer in the lap of the consumer,” said Jamie Baker, analyst with JP Morgan airline. “Discounted tariffs increasingly require a hunt, and for many consumers who have been incarcerated for a year, they are likely not up to the hassle.”

The cheapest domestic recreational airfare, including the special rates airlines send to your inbox, was $ 59.48 on March 15, still 26% lower than a similar week in 2019 but up more than 6% according to Harrell Associates higher than the week. a company that tracks airfares. Average leisure tariffs were close to $ 187, up nearly 5% from the week and nearly 9% from a similar point in 2019.

Airline executives said Monday bookings increased in March and stretched into summer. According to Airlines for America, U.S. airlines are well on their way to losing an average of $ 150 million a day this quarter. However, the CEOs of United Airlines and Delta Air Lines said the upward trend will finally curb their cash burn this spring. JetBlue calls flight attendants back from unpaid a month earlier because demand is stronger than expected.

“As long as there is no setback, we are on the recovery path and can largely put these days of talking about money burns, layoffs and the like in the rearview mirror,” CEO Scott Kirby told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday.

Hotel occupancy in the US averages more than 51% this month through March 13, its highest level in more than a year, according to hotel data analyst STR. In hot vacation spots like Miami, occupancy is nearly 70% with average prices of $ 228 per night, the highest prices since February 2020.

Jamila Ross, owner and founder of The Copper Door B&B in Miami, said she cut her rates by more than 40% to $ 100 a night for January and February, but has since been able to increase them to $ 120.

Covid was particularly devastating for their hotel because it was so dependent on the cruise industry due to its proximity to the port.

She said the hotel is now 70% full, up from 40% last month, despite holding back some inventory due to Covid.

“We want to be a responsible brand,” she said. “We can’t afford to slip up.”

Maura Gannon, general manager of The Mermaid & the Alligator, a nine-room hotel in Florida’s Key West, said, “As soon as people get the vaccines, the phones ring off the hook.”

She said some travelers are asking for bookings in May and June, which are traditionally part of the lower demand season.

Some travelers are looking for high-end accommodations that will allow them to continue to physically distance themselves from other guests.

“Villas come first year round,” said Viktoria Riley, director of marketing at Ocean Club, a Four Seasons resort in the Bahamas. Three-bedroom villas cost $ 16,500 per night in the off-season, which starts in mid-April and runs through late November.

However, tariffs and room rates have slumped the pandemic, and there are still deals, especially for business travelers, that are still largely on hold. Demand is nowhere near as high as it was before the pandemic.

In the third quarter of 2020, the latest data available, US domestic flights averaged $ 244.79, the lowest in more than 25 years, excluding inflation, according to the US Department of Transportation.

However, the airlines have greatly reduced capacity to meet weak demand, which means there are fewer seats. They are expected to add more seating at the start of midsummer season.

And with much of international travel still banned, the domestic vacation destinations have become a place to go.

Delta Air Lines, for example, announced nine new destinations on Friday or improved service to outdoor vacation destinations like Glacier Park, Mont., And Jackson Hole, Wyo.

“US travelers are being redirected to the US and the few countries we are allowed to visit in one way,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel consultancy. “That changes the demand pattern and thus the prices for air fares.”

Categories
Health

IATA app may restart quarantine-free, worldwide flights

IATA app could restart quarantine-free, international flights

People wait for passengers in one of the international arrivals lounges at London Heathrow Airport in west London on February 14, 2021

JUSTIN TALLIS | AFP | Getty Images

A new app to be released within a few weeks could represent the first step towards resuming quarantine-free international travel.

With the travel app of the International Air Travel Association (IATA), governments and airlines can digitally collect, access and share information about the status of the Covid-19 test and the vaccination of individual passengers.

The industry association, which includes 290 airlines, said the tool will make health documentation reviews more efficient while also accelerating the recovery of the hardest-hit travel sector.

“It’s really about digitizing an existing process,” Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice president of passenger cargo and security, told CNBC on Wednesday.

If we do the manual processing, we will stall the moment we see a reboot.

Nick Careen

Senior Vice President (APCS), IATA

“This is the way forward because if we work manually we will stall the moment we see a restart,” he said.

Singapore Airlines will be the first airline to pilot the tool on a continuous London Heathrow route. Thirty other airlines, including Air New Zealand and Emirates and Etihad in the United Arab Emirates, are scheduled to conduct trials by March and April.

IATA is not the only one to develop so-called digital health passports with which cross-border trips can be resumed. International agencies, governments and technology companies also participate. However, Careen hopes the app will set “minimum requirements” to allow for better interoperability.

“At some point you will see several people in this area,” he said, “but we are setting the baseline in terms of the standard.”

With the new app and the ongoing vaccine rollouts, the global airline association It is estimated that by the end of this year, travel could hit around 50% of 2019 levels.

Previously, analysts had expected a greater increase in travel in early 2021, but the continued spread of the virus and the emergence of new strains have pushed those expectations back on.

“That is the current economic forecast,” said Careen. “There are many variables that contribute to this.”

Categories
Business

Pratt & Whitney Engines Should Be Inspected Earlier than Flights Resume, F.A.A. Says

F.A.A. Orders Inspections on Boeing 777 Jets After Engine Failure

The Federal Aviation Administration announced late Tuesday that Pratt & Whitney engines on Boeing 777 aircraft must be inspected before the jets can fly again in the United States.

On Saturday, one of the engines caught fire during a United Airlines flight and covered Colorado in debris, the latest episode of its kind to involve this engine family in recent years.

United is the only American airline to operate Boeing 777s equipped with the PW4000 series of engines, and the airline announced on Sunday that it has grounded those 24 aircraft in its active fleet while waiting for the FAA leadership. In December, a similar Pratt & Whitney engine failed aboard a Japan Airlines 777.

United said it would ensure those two dozen planes and 28 more in the warehouse comply with FAA regulation. Pratt & Whitney said in a statement that the safe operation of the fleet is “a top priority”.

Before the jets can fly again, the large titanium hollow fan blades on the front of each engine must be removed and shipped to a Pratt & Whitney facility for a “thermoacoustic image” inspection under this technique, according to the FAA, a fan blade bombarded with high frequency vibrations, which increases its temperature. A thermal image of the blade is then recorded and analyzed for any unusual readings that could indicate a possible crack.

In 2018, a United flight on the same aircraft and engine combination suffered a similar failure, prompting the FAA to order engine inspections every 6,500 flights. In its statement on Tuesday, the agency said it may adjust this inspection frequency.

Also on Saturday, a Boeing 747 equipped with a relative of this engine suffered a similar fate and lost parts in the Netherlands. The European Aviation Authority has said it does not believe the episode is related to the other errors. None of the four engine failures resulted in death. Two people are said to have suffered minor injuries in the Netherlands.

Categories
Business

Airways cancel most NYC-area flights forward of snowstorm

Airlines cancel most NYC-area flights ahead of snowstorm

Airlines canceled most of the New York City area flights scheduled for Monday ahead of a strong winter storm that is likely to bring high winds and heavy snow to the area. Local officials also urged people to stay away from streets.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a large number of travel restrictions, flight schedules were already drastically below the norm.

Three quarters of scheduled departures from John F. Kennedy International Airport, or 151 flights, have been canceled, as has 86%, or 102 flights, from LaGuardia Airport, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. Nearly 70% of departures from the United Airlines Hub Newark Liberty International Airport have also been canceled. A snow storm canceled about a quarter of departures from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Sunday.

Airlines stopped charging ticket exchange fees last year in an effort to boost bookings amid the pandemic. However, several major airlines said they will not charge fare differentials for travelers hit by the winter storm.

According to Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, travelers can change their tickets to and from more than two dozen airports in the Mid Atlantic and Northeast without paying a price difference if they can rebook by Saturday. New York-based JetBlue Airways said travelers won’t have to pay the fare difference if they can travel through Friday, while United had a similar policy if customers rebook on Sunday. All airlines encouraged the customer to check with their airline for updated information.

Categories
Business

TSA weighs barring lots of from flights, steps up safety earlier than inauguration

TSA weighs barring hundreds from flights, steps up security before inauguration

A TSA officer checks a man’s ID at a checkpoint at Orlando International Airport.

Paul Hennessy | SOPA pictures | Getty Images

The Transportation Security Administration said Friday it is screening hundreds of people to see if they should be banned from flights as it will increase security ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

“Currently TSA is processing hundreds of names with law enforcement agencies for a thorough risk assessment,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. “Our intelligence and screening professionals are working diligently around the clock to ensure that those who pose a threat to our aviation sector are subjected to enhanced screening or are unable to board a plane.”

TSA said it is also increasing the number of Federal Air Marshals on some flights, random gate screenings, and more law enforcement and canine explosives detection teams. The staff is also being increased at some train stations.

The additional measures come after the deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol last week and a spate of flight disruptions, some of which are politically motivated.

In the aftermath of the uprising, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents around 50,000 flight attendants on more than a dozen airlines, raised safety concerns about “mob mentality” on some flights to Washington DC last week, saying that people should be involved in the riot flying will be banned.

The FAA promised to have a zero-tolerance policy for unruly behavior on flights and to impose a fine of up to $ 35,000.

Airlines and airports also increase security. Major US airlines are banning passengers from checking guns on flights in the Washington DC area for next week starting this weekend. American Airlines stops selling alcohol on flights, while Alaska Airlines limits the number of tickets sold into the city.

Categories
Business

Alaska Airways Clamps Down on Emotional Assist Animals on Flights

Alaska Airlines Clamps Down on Emotional Support Animals on Flights

If you’re flying with Alaska Airlines from mid-January, don’t plan on getting on board with your support pig or miniature horse.

The airline, which acted in the wake of new federal guidelines aimed at curbing a number of at times exotic animals that passengers had brought on airliners as emotional support animals, simply announced on Tuesday what it would allow: only qualified assistance dogs the up lie on the floor or be held in your lap.

Ray Prentice, director of customer advocacy at Alaska Airlines, who said it was the first major airline to publicly change its animal policy in light of updated federal guidelines, said the airline’s decision was a positive move.

“This change in the law is welcome news as it will help us reduce disruption on board while accommodating our guests traveling with qualified service animals,” Prentice said in a statement.

The airline said that as of Jan. 11, service dogs will only be allowed who have been trained to work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.

A December 2 ruling by the US Department of Transportation that amended the Department’s Air Carrier Access Act gives airlines the power to classify animals as pets rather than service animals with emotional support. According to the verdict, only dogs that meet certain training criteria may be admitted as service animals for people with physical, sensory, psychiatric, mental or other mental disabilities.

The new regulation has been criticized by disability rights advocates who said the restrictions would weaken protection for people with disabilities by restricting the definition of a service animal. According to formal guidelines from the Ministry of Transport from 2019, common service animals include dogs, cats and miniature horses.

“Although it is no secret that we are still a long way from having a truly accessible transport system in this country, the DOT rule will only serve to exacerbate existing inequalities for people with disabilities who travel by air, and instead almost exclusively for them The airline’s interests to be considered industry, “Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, said in a statement earlier this month.

Despite criticism, airlines and others in the air travel industry, such as lobby group Airlines for America, have hailed the recent changes and stated that they will do more to reduce animal misbehavior on flights and prevent individuals from setting rules regarding the service abuse animals.

In the past, passengers have attempted to travel with a wide variety of animals, from everyday to downright unusual animals such as pigs, monkeys, and birds. (One unsuccessful attempt even included a peacock.)

The Disabled Americans Act defines dogs and miniature horses as service animals “that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” Under the law, dogs that only provide emotional support are not designated as service animals.

Alaska Airlines’ revised policy allows for a maximum of two service dogs per guest and includes psychiatric service dogs. Passengers must also submit a form developed by the Ministry of Transport confirming that a dog is a service animal and has received appropriate training and vaccination.