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Four airport construction projects to watch in 2016 -- Airports across the United States are working on major construction and infrastructure projects to improve and upgrade their facilities. These projects include new and upgraded terminals, runways and taxiways, lighting and passenger amenities. AirwaysNews.com takes a look at four airports that have major projects that are ramping up in 2016. Los Angeles World Airports, which oversees Los Angeles International Airport, has been working on the $8.5 billion LAX Modernization program since 2006, which covers more than 20 individual projects, including terminal upgrades. Benet J. Wilson/Airways News
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Why airport security lines have grown longer -- Huge lines at some airport security checkpoints are creating fear of a summer travel meltdown and growing tension between airlines, airports and a TSA beset by budget issues and a mandate to tighten up security. Chicago O'Hare has had Monday morning lines snaking through concourses, delaying hundreds of flights. Atlanta has seen peak-time security screening waits of nearly an hour recently because checkpoints are "woefully understaffed," general manager Miguel Southwell wrote in a blistering Feb. 12 letter to the Transportation Security Administration. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
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TSA defends full-body scanners at airport checkpoints -- Three years, more than 1,000 comments and multiple challenges by advocacy groups later, the Transportation Security Administration issued a rule Wednesday finalizing its policy for using full-body scanners at airports. While TSA insists the machines are the best way to protect the nation's travelers from terror attacks, critics challenge the use of devices over privacy and health concerns. Bart Jansen/USA Today
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Here's how Oscars are handled at airport security -- Stars - they're just like us. They have all their belongings inspected by airport security. L�szl� Nemes, winner of the 2016 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, posted a picture to his Facebook on Wednesday of his Oscar statue in a bin about to be checked by TSA agents. "Airport security, no exceptions," he captioned the photo. The Hungarian director received the award for Son of Saul, a Holocaust drama set during World War II at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The film also won the Golden Globe for the same category. Megan McCluskey/Time
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Phoenix City Council backs plan to allow Uber, Lyft pickups at Sky Harbor airport -- Despite concerns the process is being rushed and heavily influenced by Gov. Doug Ducey, the Phoenix City Council on Tuesday voted to advance a plan to allow Uber and Lyft to pick up passengers from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport beginning this summer. In a 5-4 vote following a three-hour policy meeting, the council approved Sky Harbor's controversial new ground-transportation plan, which includes provisions for allowing the popular ride-sharing services. Dawn Gilbertson/Arizona Republic
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Two injured in 'aborted takeoff' at Palm Springs airport -- Two people were injured after an airplane crashed during an "aborted takeoff" at the Palm Springs International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. Just before 1 p.m., the biplane reached 200 feet before it lost power and returned to the runway, said Fred Bell, managing director of the Palm Springs Air Museum, which owns the airplane. The plane landed and skidded off the runway with two men on board. "It doesn't appear anyone was seriously injured," Bell said. Colin Atagi & Denise Goolsby/The Desert Sun
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US bans use of e-cigarettes on airline flights -- Electronic cigarettes are prohibited on any domestic or foreign airline flying to, from or within the United States under a final rule the government issued Wednesday. "This final rule is important because it protects airline passengers from unwanted exposure to aerosol fumes that occur when electronic cigarettes are used onboard airplanes," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. The department has long prohibited the smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products on planes, and has interpreted that ban to include e-cigarettes. Joan Lowy/AP
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Airlines appear headed for dogfight on Havana flights -- U.S. carriers appear set for a dogfight over newly opened flight rights to Havana, but their interest in other Cuban destinations appears to be lukewarm. Airlines had until the close of business on Wednesday to apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for the U.S.-Cuba flight rights. That comes after a February agreement paved the way for the first regularly scheduled, non-charter passenger airline flights between the nations in five decades. The pact gives U.S. airlines access to 110 daily flights to Cuba. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
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Debris in Mozambique is thought to come from Malaysia Airlines plane -- Debris that washed up on the coast of Mozambique could be part of the wreckage from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished almost exactly two years ago, Malaysian officials said on Wednesday. If the debris, which was discovered over the weekend, came from the plane - a Boeing 777 that was en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - it would add to the theory that the plane went down in the southern Indian Ocean, and potentially contribute to the longstanding search for the wreckage. Sewell Chan/New York Times
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Flight attendant allegedly set fire to aircraft -- An American Airlines flight attendant who allegedly set a fire in an aircraft during a flight from Dallas to Detroit last month has been arrested, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday. Jonathan Tafoya-Montano, the flight attendant, reported a fire in the rear lavatory of the aircraft and extinguished the flames on Feb. 1, David P. Gelious, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit Division, said in a statement. Flight 1418 from Dallas was on already on the approach to land at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport when the fire was reported to the captain, who was granted special emergency status to land. Beth Bradley/Dearborn Patch
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HNA investment in a US airline would boost Hainan Airlines in US-China market, reshape competition -- HNA, the holding company that owns flagship airline Hainan Airlines, has grown a portfolio of airline investments outside greater China that has recently expanded to Brazil's Azul, and could be extended to include TAP Portugal. Some of the stakes have been placed to allow HNA to be an active investor and boost its presence in the foreign market. With this general strategic objective - and cash to spend - it is logical for HNA to consider investing in a US airline. CAPA/Centre for Aviation
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Singapore Airlines gets first Airbus A350-900, to run long-haul flights to Amsterdam -- After a near ten-year wait, Singapore Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-900, which CEO Goh Choon Phong said would be a "game changer" for the flag-carrier. The latest addition to the fleet was received with a water-cannon salute at Changi Airport in Singapore, after a long journey from the Airbus delivery center in Toulouse, France. Dan Murphy/CNBC
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World's first 727 makes final flight after 25-year restoration -- The first Boeing 727 ever built completed its final flight Wednesday morning, taking off after 25 years of restoration work on a flight from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., to its new home at Seattle's Museum of Flight. The flight went off without a hitch, soaring gracefully under mostly cloudy skies for the quick fifteen-minute flight before arriving at Boeing Field in Seattle to a water cannon salute and hundreds of spectators. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
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LA City Controller predicts $169.7M budget shortfall -- City Controller Ron Galperin has released two reports showing he projects a $169.7 million budget shortfall that might make Los Angeles dip into its reserves to cover. Galperin said in a statement Tuesday that the shortfall comes mostly from less than expected state money from "property tax in-lieu of sales tax" receipts. "Though there will be many competing demands on the treasury in the coming months, we should proceed carefully in order to ensure that we are both fulfilling our commitments and continuing to maintain healthy reserves," Galperin said. Sarah Favot/Los Angeles Daily News
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L.A. City Council grants preliminary approval to DWP's rate hike -- After eight months of discussions, meetings and revisions, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to the first increase in water and power base rates in years. With a 12-2 vote, the council gave its go-ahead to the Department of Water and Power's proposal to boost water rates 4.7% and power rates 3.86% each year for five years. The DWP estimates that customers who use "typical" amounts of water and electricity will see a more modest 3% average annual increase to their monthly bills. Matt Stevens/Los Angeles Times
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Antonio Villaraigosa on governor's race 2018: 'I Have a Lot of Service Left in Me' -- Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke with Breitbart News on Wednesday about a possible gubernatorial run in 2018. Villaraigosa was a speaker at the California-Israel Water Summit at the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts.. Villaraigosa said that while he "wasn't going to make any announcements," he has not retired his mantle of public service. During his talk, he recalled several visits he had made to the State of Israel over the past few years to examine and even integrate various Israeli technologies into Los Angeles. He noted that certain security measures that he learned about in Tel Aviv have been implemented at Los Angeles International Airport. Breitbart News
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Sponsored travel for California lawmakers topped $600,000 in 2015 -- California legislators accepted at least $612,000 worth of travel last year from nonprofit organizations and foreign governments, including lodging, airfare, meals and gifts received while visiting locations from Napa and Newport Beach to Australia and Argentina. Senators took about $199,000 and Assembly members took about $413,000 of sponsored travel in 2015, according to statements of economic interest filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission this week. Twenty-one lawmakers reported no subsidized travel last year. Alexei Koseff & Jeremy B. White/Sacramento Bee
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