While vaccines are the ultimate way to get travel moving again, there has been a whole lot of talk about just how much testing regimes can help to get things moving more quickly. In fact, the US airline lobbying group Airlines for America (A4A) has now come out in favor … Read the post
Category: Safety/Security
For the first time since January, I found myself on an airplane. Since travel can help spread COVID — I don’t mean flying so much, but just taking your germs somewhere else — I hesitated to get on an airplane for a long time. But when Hawai’i opened up its … Read the post
Cranky Talk – Traveler Safety Part 2
On this week’s Cranky Talk… we’re doing another follow-up episode. No, it’s not that we’ve run out of ideas. We’re doing it because when it comes to COVID safety, there is a whole lot of new info to talk about. So, come join … Read the post
There’s a good chance you know someone who has told you, “oh yeah, I know someone who got COVID on an airplane.” That’s most likely not true. Not only is it unlikely that someone could pinpoint transmission like that in the US, but there’s also been plenty of work done … Read the post
This week’s featured link
TRANSCOM/AMC Commercial Aircraft Cabin Aerosol Dispersion Tests – US Transportation Command and DARPA
You probably saw news coverage of this study, but here is the study itself. In short, transmission on airplanes is incredibly unlikely with mask-wearing, but it’s worth a read to get more details … Read the post
Cranky Talk: How Airlines are Keeping Travelers Safe
It’s Cranky Talk time again, and this week, it’s a super-sized 18+ minute podcast. Why is it so long? Well, we had a lot to talk about.
See, this week we really dive into the whole “health and safety” thing, and it … Read the post
Many people have seen the overall TSA data showing how many people are starting their trips at US airports on the whole, but did you know that TSA also releases data by airport? This data is fascinating, and it’s a great window into exactly what is going on today on … Read the post
When word came down that 60 Minutes would be shining a spotlight on Allegiant’s safety record a couple weeks back, I assumed I knew what it was about; I was just curious if we’d learn anything new. We did not. Instead we were treated to a really terrible piece of … Read the post
Decoding the Design of In-Flight Seat Belts – Atlas Obscura
It takes skill to make an airplane seat belt into an interesting story, but Atlas Obscura did a great job of doing just that. Try to ignore Amy Fraher’s conspiracy-theory quotes and and just focus on what matters. An airplane … Read the post
Nearly everyone is aware of the large electronics ban (aka the laptop ban) that went into place earlier this year for flights from several Middle Eastern countries to the US. At the time, the justification was said to be the imminent threat of bombs in large electronics. In fact, there … Read the post
In the wake of the recent shooting in the baggage claim area in Ft Lauderdale Airport’s Terminal 2, there are a lot of questions being asked with few answers so far. The most important question that should be asked is… how can we make sure this won’t happen again?
In … Read the post
I couldn’t help but scratch my head when I saw the headline. “Newly passed air travel legislation is ‘an amazing win for consumers’.” Yes, the House, Senate, and President all miraculously agreed on a bill to do something. And that “something” extended FAA funding into next year. This … Read the post