Even on an average day, traffic in the Chicago airspace can significantly affect surrounding airports. Throw in bad weather, which is not unusual for the area, or an oddball twist like the arson incident at the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center (TRACON) last fall; and business as usual gets very complicated very quickly.
I love technology. It's the great enabler. Publishing a magazine is so much easier and efficient now that we download files rather than hand-assemble wax-coated strips of text and paper photos. And our online edition and website provide additional sources with even more content.
The evolution of technology has turned us into great electronic communicators. We are obsessed with sending emails, text messages, tweets, etc. Unfortunately, we no longer communicate very well or very accurately on paper. Often, our written messages are loaded with misspelled or missing words, poor sentence structure and punctuation problems.
With average snow accumulations of 4 1/2 feet per winter, snow removal is serious business at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). Crews plow, blow, broom and deice more than 28 million square feet in airfield pavement alone - the equivalent of a two-lane highway running from the Twin Cities to New Orleans.
For years, Aruba's Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) didn't reflect the vibrancy of its Caribbean locale. These days, the terminal is awash in ocean blues, foliage greens and the warm yellows and oranges of an island sunset.
Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG) is partnering with Plaza Premium Lounge to add a common-use lounge to its lineup of customer services. Scheduled to open in April, the 3,200-square-foot facility is the Manitoba airport's first lounge without a specific airline affiliation.
Ten years ago, McCarran International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas became one of the first U.S. airports to offer passengers free Wi-Fi inside its terminal. Now, the airport is beaming Wi-Fi outside, to passengers sitting on its ramps in arriving and departing aircraft.
Roger Wehner, executive director of the Mobile Airport Authority, keeps the photograph of a child he barely knows on his desk as a reminder of the authority's mission. The young boy was playing in an old park that used to be part of the Brookley Air Force base. These days, the park serves a lower-income community adjacent to Mobile Downtown Airport (BFM), and the airport authority is helping renovate it.
Last year, Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) became the 19th airport to join TSA's Screening Partnership Program. Now a private firm performs its security screening for passengers and checked baggage.
Executives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) recently became official fans of "not throwing the baby out with the bathwater." By replacing the workhorse center strip of Runway 8L-26R and leaving its seldom-used outer edges undisturbed, the bustling hub not only saved time and money on construction, it also minimized operational disruptions and related costs for ATL's carriers.
Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) recently fixed a host of landside traffic problems by designing and rebuilding its roadways, parking lots and taxi pick-up area. The nearly $1.5 million project untangled what Executive Director Tim Larson describes as a "pretzel-like, almost figure eight, configuration" that had plagued the Connecticut facility for years.
In October, the last eight of 20 new gates at Dallas Love Field (DAL) opened for business. To service the new gates, the Dallas Department of Aviation and Southwest Airlines partnered to install an $11.6 million fuel hydrant system. Both projects were carefully timed to coincide with the much-anticipated expiration of the Wright Amendment.
Midway International Airport (MDW) is upping its game when it comes to tracking and maintaining assets both inside the terminal and on the airfield. Skyline Management Group, the Chicago airport's property management firm, purchased a Web-based system for managing preventive and on-demand maintenance in late 2012; and company officials report that it is saving time and money alike.
Located near the center of "Tornado Alley," Wayne, NE, (population 5,500) has had its share of twisters. But the EF4 that roared through the tiny town in 2013 was especially cruel, damaging or destroying nearly everything in its path - including much of Wayne Municipal Airport (LCG) Stan Morris Field.
