safety

Swank new ways to fly + cool new places to fly to

This week there was news about new planes with upgraded interiors and a bevy of “let’s go!” new routes.

Earlier this week we shared photos and notes about the new seasonal Edelweiss Air flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Zurich.

Alaska Airlines also announced that flights between Seattle and Rome will begin in May 2026. The carrier points out that the ‘Emerald City; will be connected to the ‘Eternal City’ for the first time.

With Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines recently launched flights to Tokyo Narita and in September will begin flying to Seoul, South Korea.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) celebrated new seasonal nonstop service to Athens Airport (ATH).

American Airlines woos with the ‘premium’ Boeing 787-9 aircraft

And this week, to much hoopla, American Airlines began flying one of its new 787-9P ‘premium’ aircraft, with an inaugural flight on June 5 from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Sadly, the Stuck at The Airport team, sadly, wasn’t on that first flight. But we look forward to hopping on board soon to experience all the new creature comforts.

Here’s a short video of the new interior that the airline shared a few weeks back.

And here’s an important public service announcement

(Image courtesy Clark County Dept of Aviation)

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas and the #WhatsMyName Foundation introduced a safety campaign that is important to remember every time and anywhere you hail a rideshare.

The foundation was created to honor Sami Josephson, a young woman kidnapped and murdered by a fake rideshare driver in 2019. The campaign uses the letters of Sami’s name to spell out the tips that could save your life.

Here are the tips to remember:

S: Stop before you get in a vehicle and go over the safety rules in the app

A: Ask your driver “What’s my name?” to confirm that they are the driver assigned to you. (Don’t say, “Are you ….”)

M: Match the make, model and license plate of the car with the one displayed in your rideshare app.

I – Inform a friend or family member of your ride details. Rideshare apps offer a real-time tracking app. Use it.

REAL ID deadline delayed. Again

If one of the many things worrying you during this pandemic has been how to get to a Department of Motor Vehicles office so you can get a driver’s license or identification card that is REAL ID compliant, you can relax.

The Department of Homeland Security has decided to delay the deadline for this. Yet again.

The latest deadline for this was supposed to be October 1, 2021. But now the deadline has been pushed back 19 months to May 3, 2023.

“Protecting the health, safety, and security of our communities is our top priority,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “As our country continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, extending the REAL ID full enforcement deadline will give states needed time to reopen their driver’s licensing operations and ensure their residents can obtain a REAL ID-compliant license or identification card.” 

What is the big deal about REAL ID?

After the terrorist hijackings on September 11, 2001, Congress passed the Real ID act with the idea of adding extra layers of security to the driver’s licenses and other identification documents travelers show when seeking to board an airplane.

Many states have had a hard time (or were opposed to) meeting the stricter requirements, so enacting the law has been delayed many times already.

Now, if nothing else causes the READ ID deadline to be pushed back yet again, beginning May 3, 2023, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another TSA-acceptable form of identification (such as a passport) at airport security checkpoints for domestic air travel.  

How do you know if you have a driver’s license that’s REAL ID compliant? In most states, there is a star in the upper, right hand corner. To see what the procedure is in your state, check the DHS REAL ID page.

More robots to help keep travelers safe and sanitized

We adore the rolling little “Ask me!” robots some airports have hired to answer questions and help passengers find their way around.

But they seem more entertainment than essential.

But thanks to the pandemic, robots are getting a promotion at many airports – as super cleaners.

Robots clean up before we fly

Airports and airlines are scrambling to get the latest technology in place to keep terminal spaces and airline cabins disinfected and sanitized.

And robots are doing their part.

In May, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Robotics put a pair of self-driving, robot floor scrubbers on duty.

In July, JetBlue kicked off a 90-day pilot program at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) to evaluate Honeywell’s UV Cabin System.

These robots use ultraviolet light to clean an aircraft cabin in about 10 minutes.

Other airports and airlines have deployed robot-like tools as well.

And now San Antonio International Airport (SAT) enters the picture with its shiny new purchase: the Xenex LightStrike robot.

This robot is billed as “the only ultraviolet (UV) room disinfection technology proven to deactivate SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19.”

SAT says the LightStrike uses environmentally-friendly pulsed xenon and can disinfect an area in less than 10-15 minutes without warm-up or cool-down time. They plan to use it pretty much everywhere in the airport, including jet bridges, gate areas, ticketing counters, baggage claim, concessions, elevators, and restrooms.

And it looks like the LightStrike robot is here to stay. SAT airport plans to have a contest to give the robot a name.

Travel Tune-up: “Ask TSA” offers answers.

Want to avoid the TSA tangle? Just ask.

Bowling balls? Yes, you can take them as carry-on

Our column this week for CNBC tackled the TSA experience and offered tips on what you may – and may not – pack in your carry-on. Here’s the story.

Last week, the Transportation Security Administration shared a photo on social media of a missile launcher found in a passenger’s checked bag.

“Man said he was bringing it back from Kuwait as a souvenir,” said TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein on Twitter, “Perhaps he should have picked up a keychain instead!”

As a division of the Department of Homeland Security, TSA is responsible for overseeing security at the nation’s airports. But weighing in on the pros and cons of travel souvenirs and answering questions about what items are permitted on airplanes has become part of the job.

“We get a lot of questions about what people can take through the checkpoints,” said Janis Burl, the @AskTSA manager. “A lot are about food – i.e. ‘Can I take a sandwich?’ [Answer: yes] And over the past few months we’ve gotten a lot of questions about that’s kid toy slime.” [Also yes, but only if the slime is 3.4 ounces or less and is carried with a travelers’ liquids and lotions in the allowed one-quart zip bag.]

On its website – under the header “What Can I Bring?”, and on its app, TSA has an extensive catalog of things travelers may or may not pack in their carry-on or checked bags. Items are listed alphabetically and by category and the list can be searched.

Under “Toys” there are seven examples and TSA notes that while fidget spinners and remote controlled cars are allowed in carry-on luggage, realistic replicas of firearms and explosives are not. The TSA directory also has a helpful note about adult toys (ahem), which are allowed in both carry-on and check bags.

What about toy lightsabers, including those purchased or custom built (to the tune of $200) at Disney’s new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction?

TSA’s “What Can I Bring?” database says “Sadly the technology doesn’t currently exist to create a real lightsaber. However, you can pack a toy lightsaber in your carry-on or checked bag,” and adds, “May the force be with you.”

With summer travel in full-swing, it’s good to know ahead of time that tent spikes or poles, strike anywhere matches, spear guns, pool cues, Magic 8 Balls, firecrackers, bear spray, baseball bats and bowling pins are not allowed as carry-on items, but that bowling balls are allowed. 

Also allowed as carry-on: compasses, amethyst crystals, fresh fruit, fishing rods, live lobsters (in a clear, plastic, spill proof container), seashells, fruit gummies, cooked lasagna, jelly beans, electronic bathroom scales and frozen water bottles, as long as the water is completely frozen when presented for screening.

And while the Federal Aviation Administration is emphatic that drones not be flown near airports, TSA allows drones in carry-on bags. However, the agency encourages travelers to check with their airline about specific rules for taking drones on board.

For items not found in TSA’s database, and for travelers who want to make sure a specific item will fly, there is a team of ten full-time TSA employees who monitor and respond to questions sent in via Twitter (@AskTSA) and Facebook Messenger.

Team members are on duty 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET) weekdays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends and holidays, (including Christmas) and are quick to respond to all manner of “Can I bring?” questions sent in.

One passenger recently asked about traveling with jars of pickles. They were advised that pickles without liquid in a zip bag were good to go as carry-on, but that pickles with pickle juice were only allowed in a carry-on bag if packed in a container of 3.4 oz. or less.

Another passenger wrote to @AskTSA inquiring about traveling with a whole cantaloupe she’d grown in her garden.

“I want to take it to my mom,” the traveler tweeted to TSA. “You can,” TSA responded, adding “We hope your mom enjoys the treat!”

Other recent questions have covered verything from quesadillas to roach bait. And Burl says, when in doubt, sending along a photo is always helpful.

It may seem as if the “AskTSA” team has likely seen it all by now, but Burl says they sometimes gets stumped.

“If you send in a photo and we don’t know what it is, we’ll go to Google to figure it out.”

And while the @AskTSA team uses its knowledge, TSA’s database and, sometimes, a bit of Googling, to give travelers a thumbs up or down on traveling with certain items in carry-on or checked bags, Burl says the final say-so on any whether an items is a ‘go’ rests with the Transportation Security Officer (TSO) on duty at the checkpoint.

“If they’re looking at something that doesn’t look right, they can make that decision,” said Burl.

In addition to its website, Twitter and Facebook accounts, TSA also has a very popular and informative Instagram account that can help travelers learn about what can fly.

A recent post, in honor of National Kitten Day, for example, noted that kittens, catnip and balls of yarn are good to go through security checkpoints, but warned that cats (and other pets) must be removed from their carrier while the carrier goes on the X-ray belt for screening.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzvT82fHPGY/

TSA also produces occasional quirky-but-entertaining and educational “They brought what? videos.

Souvenir Sunday: socks at the airport

Every Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com, is Souvenir Sunday. The day we look at some of fun, local and inexpensive items you can pick up when you’re hanging around an airport.

But here’s something cheap – free, actually – you can pick at just about any airport that you’d be better off leaving behind: germs.

(MRSA Photo Credit: Janice Haney, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

In working on another topic for next week’s At the Airport column on USATODAY.com, I’ve been e-chatting with a podiatrist who has important advice for anyone heading to the airport wearing flip-flops or sandals: put on socks!

“When the TSA has every single person remove their shoes and stand barefoot in the same place where hundreds of prior people have, you create a scenario where infection has the potential to spread,” warns Dr. Nirenberg. “Persons with fungus, warts or bacterial infections are still told to remove footwear and these could be spread to people who have breaks or fissures in the skin of their feet.”

Ick!

Sure, you want to get through the security line quickly. But when you’re dressing to go to the airport wear put on some socks. If you forget and find yourself standing barefoot on that mat with the white foot outlines on it, your next stop should probably be an airport shop where you can buy yourself an inexpensive pair of souvenir socks.