2007-03-08 News Clips - McCarran International Airport

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Feature Story March 2007
Airport Construction
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Las Vegas Airports Take Flight
McCarran Expands While New lvanpah Airport Lifts Off
By Tony Ill/a
McCarran Airport is preparing for Las Vegas’ ever-growing influx of visitors by opening a
new consolidated rental car facility, expanding two existing gates and adding a new
terminal. Meanwhile, the $4-billion new airport planned for the lvanpah Valley moves
forward.
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McCarran International
Airport, the nation’s fifth busiest, is undertaking a five-year, $3.8-billion capital
improvement program to meet the rapid growth of the Las Vegas Valley. San Franciscobased Bechtel Infrastructure Corp. is the program manager.
McCarran handled nearly 46.2 milllion passengers in 2006, and for every new hotel
room added to the city’s inventory, another 320 passengers come through McCarran,
says Randall H. Walker, director of the Clark County Dept. of Aviation.
Currently there are 36,725 more hotel rooms planned through 2010, a 27.6% increase
over last year’s inventory, reports the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The
2,800-acre, four-runway airport could consequently soon reach its 53-million passenger
capacity. McCarran trails only LAX as the nation’s busiest origin and destination airport
with more than 121,000 passengers daily, Walker says.
McCarran is undertaking a series of capacity expansions and facility upgrades to meet
demand, while pursuing the construction of a new airport in the Ivanpah Valley, 40 miles
southwest of Las Vegas.
lvanpah Airport
The lvanpah airport will be located on a dry lakebed east of Interstate-I 5, between Jean,
Nev., and the California border. A $14.2 million environmental impact statement for the
new 6,000-acre airport complex is being prepared by Watertown, Mass.-based Vanasse
Hangen Brustlin. The initial $4 billion phase will consist of a 14-gate terminal with two
parallel runways for concurrent takeoff and landings, with 2,000 acres allocated for flood
control.
It is expected to be operational by 2017, servicing six million passengers in its first year.
McCarran will eventually shift its focus to short-commuter flights, with Ivanpah assuming
the long-distance and international routes.
“This will be the first new major airport in the country since Denver,” says Jonathan
Feinstein, VHB senior vice president, whose firm won the contract as a result of a
national, three-stage competition. “In addition to the airport there will be 14,000 acres of
land for commercial and industrial development.”
The Southern Nevada Public Lands Act of 1998 created a 200-ft-wide utility corridor
from Las Vegas to Ivanpah, helping fast-track easements over federal land for bringing
water and electrical power to the site.
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The final environmental report has to be submitted by 2010 for federal approval. If
cleared for takeoff, design will take three years followed by four years of construction.
The county has retained URS as their aviation consultant.
Construction of the lvanpah facility will be financed from federal grants and revenue
bonds, with debt being retired from passenger fees, concessions and airport revenue.
Upon build-out, it will service up to a 35-million passengers annually.
Rent-A-Car Center
McCarran, meanwhile, is freeing up space at its existing facility by moving car rental
operations offsite to a new 79.2-acre complex at Gilespie Street and Warm Springs
Road. Check-in counters inside the terminal building will be converted into added
baggage carousels.
The $123.3 million Rent-A-Car Center will consist of a three-level, 1.7 million-sq-ft
garage capable of storing 6,000 cars. The cast-in-place concrete structure will have an
11-acre footprint. Denver-based PCL Construction is the general contractor.
The project also entails a two-story, 131,000-sq-ft customer service building, designed
by Las Vegas-based SH Architecture. The steel-framed, crescent-shaped structure will
house 10 rental car companies capable of conducting 10,000 transactions daily. The
building will feature a concrete block and sandstone veneer, with glass and aluminum
panels.
“We tried to make the orientation as direct and simple as possible for new visitors,” says
John Sawdon, principal of SH Architecture.
Other project components include three quick turnaround areas with fuel and service
islands as well as two-story light maintenance facilities. There will be a total of 125 gas
pumps with 150,000 gallons of fuel available in underground tanks that will need refilling
every two days. It will be the largest gas station west of the Mississippi, claim project
officials.>>
Car companies signed a 10-year lease to occupy space inside the new Rent-A-Car
Center, which is scheduled to open this month. A $3-per-transaction service charge will
help underwrite passenger shuttles. McCarran will run 60 buses in a 2.3-mi loop
between the airport and back. It expects to receive about $20-million annually in car
rental revenue.
Terminal 3
McCarran’s consolidation of its car rental operations allows it to build a new 1.87 millionsq-ft third terminal building. The $1.8 billion, 14-gate Terminal 3, located north of the DGates, will be totally self-contained with its own security gates, baggage claim, retail
concessions, parking and ticketing, says Elaine Sanchez, McCarran’s public information
manager.
The project, which will have six gates dedicated for international travelers, is scheduled
to reach 100% design completion next month. Las Vegas-based PGAL is the architect.
Terminal 3 will give McCarran 117 total gates its final build-out capacity. The project is
tentatively scheduled to open by 2011.
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Construction, however, requires a $55 million realignment of Russell Road, between
Paradise Road and Eastern Avenue, to the north. McCarran had previously purchased
440 surrounding homes to make room for the realignment, which is expected to finish
mid-year. Terminal 3 will connect to the D-Gates via a concrete reinforced underground
tunnel for an Automated Transit System.
D Gates addition
The D Gates are undergoing a $109-million, 128,000-sq-ft expansion with St. Louisbased McCarthy Building Cos. as general contractor. The 9-gate northwest wing
addition, designed by Henderson-based Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects, will consist of a
two-story, steel-framed structure set atop spread footings. The 500-ft-long fan-shaped
structure will feature a combination glass curtain wall facade with sunshade louvers, and
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aluminum and zinc metal paneling. It will also have exposed bowtie roof trusses,
clerestory windows and 80-ft-tall central pyramid-shaped atrium that allows indirect
sunlight to filter down.
The lower level will house mechanical, electrical, security, luggage and other back-ofhouse services, while the main level will have ticketing, passenger lounges and 10 retail
spaces. The 36 month project will require 16,000 sq ft of glass and 1,600 tons of steel.
“There are some restrictive work hours during the holidays, but the job generally
requires a lot of coordination between the subs, the owner, the construction manager
and tenants,” says Randy Highland, McCarthy’s Nevada division president. “We are also
working around take-off and landings, which entails some security restrictions.”
The northwest wing is expected to finish by September 2008, employing up to 250
trades during the height of construction activity. It will give the satellite terminal 44 total
gates upon completion.
C Gates security checkpoint
McCarran could reach capacity five years before the new lvanpah Airport opens. As a
result, officials are looking to upgrade existing operations where possible.
For example, the airport is spending $65.4 million to build a new pedestrian link between
the C and B gates as well as a new security annex. Las Vegas-based Flagship
Construction Co. LLC is the general contractor. The 64-ft-long, 35-ft-wide and 17-ft-high
elevated skybridge is an enclosed steel-and-glass structure with moving walkways and
retail areas. The two-level, 65,000-sq-ft security screening building has security and
ticketing check points, offices, concession areas on the second level, with storage,
mechanical and airline spaces underneath. Domingo Cambiero Corp., Las Vegas, is the
architect.
“Bringing additional passengers through our airport takes more than just adding flights,”
says Walker. “We must have the terminal facilities in place to handle passengers’ needs,
and roadways to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of private and commercial
vehicles.”
Key Players
Construction Manager: Bechtel Infrastructure Corp.
Contractors: Flagship Construction Co.; McCarthy Building Cos.;
PCL Constructors
Architects: Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects; SH Architecture;
PGAL; Domingo Cambiero Corp.
Engineers: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin; URS
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JetBlue adds operations chief after service fiasco: Financial News Yahoo! Finance
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JetBlue adds operations chief after service fiasco
Wednesday March 7, 6:29 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) Discount carrier JetBlue Airways Corp. (NasdaqGS:JBLU News) named a new chief
operating officer on Wednesday, shoring up its management team just weeks after suffering a major service
meltdown.
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Russell Chew, former chief operating officer at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, will assume the COO role at
JetBlue on March 19.
Oversight of JetBlue’s daily operations was previously handled by President David Barger to whom Chew will report.
Seven-year-old JetBlue was ill prepared for an ice storm at its New York hub on February 14, leaving passengers
stranded on board planes for up to 10 hours and forcing the airline to cancel some 1,200 flights. The company has
said the incident, which tarnished its customer-friendly image, will cost it $30 million.
“Russ brings a wealth of industry and government experience that will help lead JetBlue into a new era of customer
service, comfort, and operational reliability,” Chief Executive David Neeleman said in a statement.
Chew, who was also previously managing director of the systems operations center at AMR Corp.’s (NYSE:AMR
News) American Airlines, will oversee flight operations, operational planning, technical operations, and safety.
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JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said the carrier was looking for a COO even before the February incident, but the
disruption made the need for additional leadership more apparent.
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written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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3/7/2007
Spirit Airlines to charge for all checked baggage Travel News MSNBC.com
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MSNBC.com
Spirit Airlines to charge for all checked baggage
Fliers must buy coffee, other in-flight drinks, but carrier slashing airfares
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:29 p.m. PT March 7, 2007
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
Spirit Airlines said Tuesday it will take the unusual step of charging for all checked
baggage and for drinks such as coffee and soda on flights starting in June, while also cutting fares by up to 40
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percent.
The Miramar-based low-cost carrier that flies domestically and to Latin America and the Caribbean said it is
cutting fares from 10 to 40 percent systemwide, and on last-minute fares as well.
Spirit also will charge for each checked bag for flights taking place June 20 or after, according to its Web site.
Customers will still be allowed one carry-on bag for free, but one or two checked bags will cost $5 each if
passengers make flight reservations on the carrier’s Web site. The fee will be $10 each for one or two bags if
passengers don’t use the Web site for reservations. The charge is $100 for the third bag and on.
The airline currently allows one checked bag for free and $10 for a second checked bag.
Also starting June 20, soft drinks, juices, coffee and tea
be free.
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which are now free
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will cost $1. Water will still
Most large U.S. carriers allow a carry-on bag and up to two or three checked bags at no additional charge per
passenger. However, U.K.-based Ryanair charges a fee for each item of checked baggage, according to its
Web site. Air Canada offers customers the option of saving $5 if they don’t check any baggage.
With drinks, carriers usually charge for alcoholic beverages on domestic flights. But sodas, coffee and juice are
usually free.
Bob Harrell, a travel consultant in New York, said airlines that cater to leisure travel such as Spirit often adjust
fares, raising or lowering them 25 percent or more from one week to another in some cases. But airlines also
are seeking ways to offset baggage handling costs, and lowering prices may be a way for Spirit to justify the
move to charge for checked bags, Harrell said
“The baggage and the soda changes are new,” said Harrell, of Harrell Associates. “If they’re not exclusively
new, then it’s certainly unusual.”
However, Harrell added that while it’s possible that the major airlines would be looking at the success or
failure of Spirit’s changes, “You wouldn’t see a lemming type of match from the larger carriers.”
The move also reflects a strategy where services for baggage handling and beverages are “a Ia carte,” or payas-you-go, said Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst with R.W. Mann & Co. Inc. in Port Washington, N.Y.
At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Naomi Berger waited for a return flight to New York’s
Laguardia Airport. She said the airline told her of the $10 charge for a second checked bag by e-mail, and that
she was OK with the extra charge because she paid $85 for her round trip ticket from New York to visit a
relative in Miami Beach with her daughter and husband.
“If they keep the fares down, people use them,” said Berger, who lives on Long Island.
But her husband, Robert Berger, was more critical of the charges. He said airlines are more interested in just
getting travelers to their destinations and making short-term profits, rather than building a customer base by
providing good service.
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3/7/2007
Spirit Airlines to charge for all checked baggage Travel News MSNBC.com
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“Only an airline with no pride would charge you for a cup of soda,” said Robert Berger, who is in the
telecommunications business. “We’ll pay them for the $10 for baggage and $1 for soda because we’re still
ahead of the game” on ticket prices, he said.
Spirit also plans to eliminate first-class service and free alcoholic drinks. The former first-class seats will be
called “Big Front Seats” and sell at premium prices.
The airline is offering 1 cent fares, plus fees and taxes, to and from select cities in March, April and May.
Customers have until Wednesday to book those flights.
Spirit, which is privately owned, offers service to 33 cities in the United States, Latin America and the
Caribbean. Spirit has hubs in Detroit and Fort Lauderdale. Its competitors include JetBlue, Northwest Airlines
and Southwest Airlines.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
URL: http://www.rnsnbc,msn.comI~id/17484546/i.iom/RS.2/
© 2007 MSNBC.com
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3/7/2007
EU Debates Way To Pass Skies Deal As U.K. Fumes WSJ.com
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WALL STREETJo1I~uA.
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March 8, 2007
EU Debates Way
To Pass Skies Deal
.A.s U.K. Fumes
.
By WILLIAM ECHIKSON
March 8, 2007
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BRUSSELS The European Commission said it may resort to a
simple majority vote to conclude a trans-Atlantic open-skies deal
with the U.S. The move could render U.K. opposition moot.
--
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Since the U.S. and the European Union agreed last week to free air traffic across the Atlantic
Ocean, officials and airline executives have considered whether the unanimous approval ofall 27
EU nations would be required.
Commission spokesman Michele Cercone Wednesday said that the EU’s executive body would
prefer a “consensus” on the issue, but that transport matters only required majority approval.
An EU diplomat said that at this stage it remained unclear how the deal would be voted on.
The EU and the U.S. agreed last week on a draft deal to free up air travel across the Atlantic,
allowing each other’s airlines to fly from any city in Europe to any city in the U.S. and vice versa.
Since then, U.K. opposition to a proposed trans-Atlantic treaty has emerged as a major stumbling
block.
British Airways PLC has lashed out against the proposal and the director ofLondon’s Heathrow
Airport predicted difficulty meeting increased demand for take-offand landing slots.
“We think it is a bit short-sighted to look at how it affects one airline rather than another one,” Mr.
Cercone said.
Other opposition emerged from national flag carriers. The International Air Carrier Association,
representing 39 airlines, called the deal “one-sided” and said it “brings no real benefits for
European carriers,” in a statement Wednesday.
Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, said a proposed open-skies deal is a “poor agreement” for
Europe, adding that BA is opposed to the draft as it won’t allow European carriers to access the
U.S. domestic market or offer services onto Asia from America. It also still requires that U.S.
government personnel and contractors fly with U.S. carriers, and limitations remain on the
maximum voting rights that foreign entities could own in U.S. airlines. BA will continue to lobby
against the draft during the next two weeks to have it rejected or amended, he said.
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3/7/2007
EU Debates Way To Pass Skies Deal As U.K. Fumes WSJ.com
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Mr. Walsh said he expects an open-skies deal to be struck at some stage and the airline is
preparing for it.
EU transport ministers are due to discuss the deal at a meeting in Brussels on March 22. The issue
isn’t expected to be raised at this week’s summit of European leaders, which instead will focus on
energy matters, diplomats said Wednesday.
Although the U.S. has remained adamant in its refusal to allow EU airlines to fly domestic routes
or own more than 25% ofthe voting capital of a U.S. airline, EU Transportation Commissioner
Jacques Barrot insisted the deal remains worthwhile.
Within five years, an additional 26 million passengers could take trans-Atlantic flights, the EU
estimates. The cost of tickets could decrease and increased competition could create about 80,000
jobs, spread more or less equally between the U.S. and the EU, his office estimates.
--Rod Stone contributed to this article.
Write to William Echikson at wi11iam.echikson(~dowjones.com1
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3/7/2007
Clock Change May Jumble Flight Connections WSJ.com
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• THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. .
ONLINE
March 8, 2007
Clock Change May Jumble Flight
Connections
By AARON RUTKOFF
March 8, 2007
With the arrival of daylight-saving time on Sunday, three weeks
ahead of last year’s schedule, the afternoon skies will stay brighter
longer. But for some travelers, this could lead to hassles.
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Thanks to an impending disconnect between European and U.S.
clocks, cross-continental fliers whose trips entail connections within or beyond the U.S. may find
it harder to get a convenient connection and may need to schedule long layovers, say airline
representatives.
The change is one of many expected to affect consumers due to the early time change, thanks to
both the technicalities of the switch as well as the consumer behavior likely to follow from it.
Already, some consumers are gearing up to avoid time-related troubles on electronic devices and
may have to scramble to update their software programs’ internal clocks.
With the airlines, the glitch arises because as clocks in the U.S. (except Arizona) “spring forward”
this weekend, that won’t happen in Europe for two more weeks. During that period, flights that
would normally land at a convenient time for a connection will be off schedule. (Next year and in
2009, the gap between Europe and U.S. clocks will last for three weeks.)
Some travelers could end up waiting hours for the next
flight to their destinations. Extended layover times
airlines generally try not to exceed two hours will be
most pronounced for international itineraries that begin or
end at U.S. regional airports. AMR Corp.’s American
Airlines’s daily flight from Madrid to Miami, for
example, currently makes its scheduled landing in Miami
at 3:05 p.m. local time. Typically, passengers have about
90 minutes to catch a connection to Houston at 4:35 p.m.
Travelers going on to Bogota, Colombia, usually have a
little more than two hours to catch their 5:20 p.m.
--
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connection.
But next week, travelers on American’s Madrid-Miami route will be scheduled to land at 4:05
p.m. local time, says airline spokesman Tim Wagner which means they’ll likely be unable to
make the 4:35 p.m. connection, and instead will have to wait over five hours forthe next plane to
Houston. Those traveling on to Bogota might not make the 5:20 p.m. connection. Instead, they
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3/7/2007
Clock Change May Jumble Flight Connections WSJ.com
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Page 2 of 2
might need to schedule a flight for 10 a.m. the next morning.
So, why can’t U.S. airlines simply move up the departure time of their flights originating in
Europe, ensuring that passengers can get better connections? Doing that is difficult because of
strict “use it or lose it” rules regarding time slots at European airports. U.S. airlines have little
flexibility to adjust their schedules because if they did, they could risk losing control over a
valuable time slot at busy hubs, according to the Air Transport Association, a trade organization
for U.S. airlines.
At Europe’s busiest destinations, such as Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Frankfurt
International Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport, prime runway slots are precious business
assets, says John Hansman, a professor of aeronautics and the head of MIT’s International Center
for Air Transportation.
The same issue applies to Asia, according to Steve Lott, a spokesman for the International Air
Transport Association, a global industry group. Asia’s hub airports that use slot-controlled
runways include those in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney.
Some travelers may be able to avoid the timing woes by making their connections at European
hub airports, instead. (So, the traveler looking to get from Madrid to Houston, for example, could
connect to a direct flight at another European airport instead of Miami.) In an issue brief released
last month, the Air Transport Association argued that some travelers would be driven to foreign
airlines. “It makes it less attractive to connect in the U.S. than to connect in Europe, so there may
be an advantage to European carriers,” Mr. Hansman says.
Just how inconvenienced fliers on U.S. airlines will find themselves remains to be seen. Mr.
Wagner, the spokesman for American Airlines, called the issue “a very significant problem.” But
Mary Clark, a spokeswoman for Continental Airlines Inc., said: “Some international itineraries
may be affected slightly but we think we’ve done our best to minimize any disruption to our
customers.”
...
MIT’s Mr. Hansman also predicts that the out-of-sync airline schedules won’t cause too many
headaches. “Any change creates some sort of disturbance in the system,” he adds. “How
significant is this compared with a snowstorm at JFK? I would say this is not as big ofa deal.”
Write to Aaron Rutkoff at [email protected]
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3/7/2007
Atlanta’s Hartsfield world’s busiest airport Travel News MSNBC.com
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Atlanta’s Hartsfield world’s busiest airport
O’Hare, Heathrow round out top 3, but airline woes led to fewer passengers
The Associated Press
Updated: 12:53 p.m. PT March 7, 2007
GENEVA Atlanta’s Hartsfield International held its ranking as the world’s busiest passenger airport in 2006,
followed by Chicago’s O’Hare and London’s Heathrow, according to preliminary figures released this week.
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Some 84.8 million passengers went through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Genevabased Airports Council International said. It was a 1.2 percent decline over the previous year. O’Hare
International Airport had 76.2 million, and Heathrow Airport 67.5 million, both numbers signal modest
decreases in passengers compared with 2005.
Traffic at U.S. airports declined because of the restructuring of Delta and Northwest and the closure of
Independence Air, the council said.
“Heathrow’s flat results stemmed from the August security scare and severe weather in December, but also
show the stagnating effect of lack of expansion,” the council said.
Filling out the top 10 were Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, with 65.2 million; Los Angeles International Airport, 61
million; Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, 60 million; Paris Charles de Gaulle, 56.8 million; Frankfurt
Airport, 52.8 million; Beijing Capital International Airport, 48.5 million; and Denver International Airport, 47.3
million.
Beijing was the top performer in the Asia Pacific region with an 18 percent increase in passenger traffic, the
council said. Denver was the best U.S. performer with a 9.1 percent increase.
Hartsfield also led in numbers of flights, handling 976,447, a decline of 0.4 percent. O’Hare, which was first in
2005, finished second last year with 958,643, a drop of 1.4 percent.
The total number of passengers worldwide rose by 5.1 percent to 4.4 billion, according to the council.
Memphis International Airport in Tennessee
headquarters of Federal Express
continued to have the
world’s busiest airport for cargo, handling 3.7 million metric tons (4.08 million U.S. tons). Hong Kong
International Airport was second with 3.6 million metric tons (3.97 million U.S. tons). Ted Stevens Anchorage
—
—
International Airport in Alaska, was third with 2.8 million metric tons (3.09 million U.S. tons).
The numbers released Monday by the Airports Council may change slightly in June when final figures are
released.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
URL: http://www.rnsnbc.msn.com/idJ1 750 1244/
© 2007 MSNBC.com
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3/7/2007
TSA: Little Danger on Plane With Guns New York Times
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March 8, 2007
TSA: Little Danger on Plane With Guns
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 2:59 p.m. ET
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Passengers on a commercial flight from Florida to Puerto Rico were in
little danger despite more than a dozen guns being on board, because at least two federal air
marshals were also on the plane, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman said
Thursday.
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TSA spokesman Christopher White declined to address the security breach or whether the
marshals knew that guns were there.
“I cannot comment on the operational details ofthis ongoing, long-term federal law
enforcement investigation,” White said.
Two baggage handlers used their employee uniforms and airport identification cards to enter
restricted areas, bypass screeners with a bag containing the guns and drugs and board the
commercial DeltaAir Lines flight Monday, according to court documents.
An anonymous tip led to the investigation, said Carlos Baixauli of the U.S. Bureau ofAlcohoL
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Thomas Anthony Munoz, 22, was arrested in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when he got off the plane.
Inside a duffel bag he was carrying, authorities found 13 handguns, an assault rifle and eight
bags of marijuana, Baixauli said.
Zabdiel J. Santiago Balaguer, 22, who had been questioned by security screeners on Monday
but released after no guns or drugs were found, was arrested late Tuesday. Both were charged
with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possessing firearms during a drug trafficking
offense, court documents said.
The court documents say Balaguer was a middle man who had delivered guns and drugs to
Puerto Rico and offered to pay Munoz as much as $5,000 to make that delivery, court
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Weapons-On-Plane.html?_r=1 &oref=slogin&page... 3/8/2007
TSA: Little Danger on Plane With Guns New York Times
Page 2 of 2
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documents assert.
A contact in Puerto Rico had wired more than $i,8oo to Balaguer last week, which was usedto
buy the guns and drugs, according to a federal agent’s affidavit.
Balaguer remained in custody Thursday in Orange County. Public defender Stephen Langs said
he planned to plead not guilty.
“We’ll see what the government thinks it has,” said Langs, who declined to further discuss the
case.
It wasn’t clear when Munoz would be moved to Florida or ifthe connection in Puerto Rico was
in custody. It also wasn’t immediately clear ifMunoz had an attorney.
Munoz and Balaguer worked for Comair, an Erlanger, Ky.-based subsidiary ofDelta. Both
passed federal background checks before employment, Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said.
Screening at airports nationwide, including in Orlando, followthe process outlined by the
Transportation Security Administration, said Carolyn Fennell, an Orlando airport
spokeswoman. She wouldn’t say ifthe TSA would increase security after the Orlando breach.
capyoght 2007 The Associated Press
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http ://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Weapons-On-Plane.html? r= 1 &oref=slogin&page... 3/8/2007