Think you can design a cost-efficient, sustainable air traffic control tower?
The Federal Aviation Administration, (FAA) has more than 100 aging control towers at regional and municipal airports across the United States that will need to be replaced. So, the agency is launching a nationwide solicitation for a new design for control towers that can be built and operated sustainably.
The FAA points to the tower at Tucson International Airport (TUS) as an example of a sustainable tower building already in operation. The TUS tower is the first air traffic facility with net-zero energy consumption. It uses a 1,600-panel solar farm to generate power for all of its electrical needs. And it supplies unused power back to the grid. The solar farm also produces ice, which is stored in large containers and used to cool the building when solar panels are not generating electricity.
But even if you’re not an architect or an engineer, note that the last time the FAA invited architectural firms to develop a modular design concept for new control towers it hired the company headed by then rising architect I.M. Pei. Several of the 16 Pei-designed towers—including at Chicago O’Hare, Sacramento, Madison, and Jacksonville international airports—are still operating.
Last week we joined a group of airline crew members for a four-hour self-defense class taught by the Transportation Security Administration’s Federal Air Marshals.
TSA has been offering these classes since at least 2015 but put the courses on hold during the height of the pandemic. Now, given the uptick in unruly passengers and the viciousness some passengers have been unleashing on flight attendants, TSA has brought the classes back. Since June, more than 50 free classes have been held around the country.
The courses are available in two dozen cities to any active crewmember working for a domestic airline. While the courses are free, those taking the courses must do so on their own time. Airlines offer some self-defense training as part of their training, but some flight attendants we spoke with would like the more advanced TSA self-defense course to be on paid time.
While there are Federal Air Marshals on many domestic flights, they are not on all of them. And, air marshal presence or not, flight attendants are the ones who must first deal with unruly and aggressive passengers. Some flight attendants told us they signed up for the self-defense class because they wanted new tools to deal with the behavior they’ve been witnessing, hearing about, and could soon be coming their way.
Flight attendants don’t just feel vulnerable in the air. Some crew members we spoke with during the self-defense class said they also wanted to be prepared to defend themselves when on the ground. We heard about flight attendants who worry about being attacked in hotel hallways and while walking through parking garages or waiting for shuttle vans.
The crewmembers in the TSA self-defense class we observed learned basic self-defense skills using their personal weapons: fists, palms, the edge of their hands, forearms, elbows, legs, feet, and knees. And, after four hours, they were pretty good at, and confident about, using these skills, if necessary.
As more airline crew members get the TSA training and go on to take more advanced self-defense courses on their own, we hope word gets around that it is a bad idea to try to tangle with an airline crew member. Especially one who has graduated from the TSA’s self-defense course.
The Voices of MIA program launched in 2019 and featured the voices of local celebrities including Miami Heat stars Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem, celebrity chef Adrianne Calvo, Grammy-winning producer Emilio Estefan and telenovela star Jencarlos Canela.
The refreshed 2021 series of celebrity welcome messages includes rapper and singer Flo Rida; actor, singer and composer Carlos Ponce; celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein; rapper and TV personality Trina; and celebrity chef and TV personality Chef Pepín. Listen for the messages on MIA’s address system around the clock on a rotating basis.
And if you’re traveling through Miami International Airport, or have friends or family meeting you there or dropping you off, keep in mind this is one of the airports hosting a free COVID-19 vaccination site through July 31.
#TravelAdvisory: We will be offering COVID-19 vaccinations daily from 7 am-7 pm in the International Greeter’s Lobby in CC J through July 31.
MIA’s Military Hospitality Lounge recently reopened as well.
📢 Our Military Hospitality Lounge has officially reopened! Military personnel, veterans, and their families now have one more place to rest and relax during their travels. ✈️
UFOs have been in the news lately. So we are pleased to see a piece of art featuring a UFO included in a new exhibition at Miami International Airport.
Key West and Other Unusual Places includes printed works by Miami-based visual artists and printmakers Brian Reedy and Tom Virgin.
Reedy has a fascination with the supernatural and Asian architecture. So the work above, UFO over Bombay, makes sense.
Tom Virgin’s work reflects his travels across the United States.
Tom Virgin, Big Shark (from Escape Series),
The exhibit will be on display in the The Eye Has to Travel Gallery near Gate D29 until October, 2021.
Sharing some of the Tweets airports shared on Monday about National Selfie Day, about short films to watch to celebrate Pride Month, and about the return of a magical painting.
It wouldn’t be the start of a great trip without an airport selfie 🤳 Find our new selfie station at RDU’s Terminal 2 and tag us in your pics! #WhereWillYouCarryOnpic.twitter.com/XMmu9YrZOW
Celebrate #Pride Month with four short films from the LGBTQ community that reflect the importance of love, acceptance, and living one’s life with courage and authenticity. Our #VideoArtSFOM gallery is closed, but the films are online at: https://t.co/s0oA7fUN7a
Now you see him…at the A gates! 🪄 At the end of 2020, the infamous ‘High Wire’ painting magically vanished from its home near D gates only to reappear over security checkpoint 2 earlier this month. Check out magical facts about the mysterious painting → https://t.co/mAgotfVzpspic.twitter.com/qEQTCMa7x2
— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) June 21, 2021
June 18 marks 50 years since Southwest Airlines flew its first commercial flight and to celebrate the airline is giving away prizes through June 18 and celebrating all month long.
The Southwest Airlines Sweepstakes
Through June 18, anyone can enter the sweepstakes here for a chance to win prizes that include 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, or 50,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points.
We’ve been entering everyday, but so far we’re not a winner.
Be sure to enter the sweepstakes on June 18. That’s the day Southwest has dubbed “Wanna Get Away Day,” when the prizes – and the number of prizes awarded – balloon considerably.
On that day, you could win up to a million rapid rewards points, a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card, and a Companion Pass that lets you take someone with you every time you fly on Southwest Airlines.
The Party Goes On All Month
In addition to the sweepstakes, Southwest Airlines is hosting pop-up photo opportunities in 24 airport gate areas and rolling out Heart Carts full of swag and giveaways in more than 40 of its locations.
Southwest Airlines fans who want to celebrate with some swag can shop the Southwest Airlines online store for retro merchandise that includes a Retro Build-A-Bear wearing the airline’s original hotpants uniform.
Note: I was compensated by Project Screen by Prenetics for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thinking of traveling internationally?
Italy, France, Greece, Croatia, and Iceland are among the countries already opening their borders to vaccinated travelers. And on Friday, the EU is expected to finalize details on how all member countries will move forward to welcome vaccinated Americans.
But what if you want to travel to the UK from the US?
The UK is using a traffic light system for people traveling to England from outside the UK, with countries categorized on the green, amber, or red lists.
Each color has an accompanying list of rules regarding testing and quarantining.
Courtesy Project Screen by Prenetics
The US is on the Amber List – For Now
The status may change depending on a wide variety of factors, including the spread of coronavirus variants, but as of May 28, the United States is on the amber list.
Here’s what that means:
Whether or not you have been vaccinated, if you want to travel from the United States or have been in an amber country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England you must:
On arrival in England, travelers will need to take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after arrival.
No quarantine will be required if the COVID-19 test is negative.
Getting a COVID-19 test in England
Many companies offer the required COVID-19 testing in the U.K. One example is Project Screen, a Prenetics owned company that provides private PCR testing via at-home test kits and via walkup testing pods, with results returned securely online within 24 hours of the lab receiving the swab.
Costs can vary, with some airlines and travel agents offer discounts on tests. And there has been an effort to have the VAT tax removed from testing to help lower the costs.
Are you hoping to travel the England sometime soon? Let us know what your experience is with the traffic light system.
Air travel is back on, but what about fun activities at airports?
That’s back on too. At least at New York’s JFK Airport, where the TWA Hotel adjacent to Terminal 5 is operating a summer roller rink next to the hotel’s 1958 Lockheed Constellation “Connie” airplane.
A 50-minute skating session costs $20 per adult and $16 for kids 12 and includes the skate rentals, although you can bring your own. Helmets are available for rent. The rink is cleaned between each session.
Sound like something you want to do? The TWA Hotel’s Roll-A-Rama ( great name, right?) is open Fridays from 4 PM to 8 PM and on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 PM to 8 PM. Tickets are on a first come, first served basis and capacity may be limited.
To help you get in the mood, here are some ‘by the numbers’ factoids about roller skating put together by the TWA Hotel.
Road trips are all the rage right now, so it is fun to see the iconic landmarks and images of Route 66 featured in the new exhibit at John Wayne Airport (JWA) in Santa Ana, CA.
The pastel paintings on display through April 15, 2021, and are all by Ruth Kurisu.
“I have traveled down Route 66 several times over the years and witnessed both its decline, rebirth, and preservation as a living time capsule and wanted to preserve this historical highway in my own way,” said Kurisu.
Kurisu’s exhibit is on display pre-security, on the Departure (upper) Level near security screening areas in Terminals A, B, and C and on the Arrival (lower) Level adjacent to Baggage Carousels 1 and 4.
