More Than 1,600 Flights Canceled As Winter Storm Wallops Chicago

As of 8:30 p.m., more than 1,360 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport and more than 300 flights were canceled at Midway Airport

More than 1,000 flights were canceled Monday as a winter storm pelted the Chicago area with ice, sleet and snow.

As of 8:30 p.m., more than 1,360 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport and more than 300 flights were canceled at Midway Airport. Delays of up to two hours were also reported at O’Hare Airport, while flights were being delayed up to 15 minutes at Midway, officials said.

The National Weather Service extended its Winter Storm Warning Monday evening. It will now remain in effect for Chicago until midnight, along with several surrounding counties.

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6 PIA Flights Delayed Owing To Unions’ Protest

As many as six PIA flights were delayed on Tuesday owing to protest by the unions, spokesman of the national flag carrier said in a statement here on Wednesday. He informed that the flights were delayed yesterday owing to the `industrial dispute’- protest by the PIA’s unions.

`Due to industrial dispute (protest by PIA unions) six PIA flights were delayed yesterday as protesters entered the main data center at PIA headquarters pulling out cables and shutting down computer systems’, the spokesman said.

Due to this, PIA’s entire system remained suspended for nearly three hours, he added.

`PIA management has requested unions leaders to ensure that these nerve centers of the airline remain out of bounds for angry protesters as any damage to the system can have serious consequences for the passengers as well as the airline’, the statement added.
News Source: brecorder.com

Read Also :Common Causes of Flight Delays and Your Associated Rights as a Passenger

AI flights delayed as service engineers continue protests after colleague’s death

MUMBAI: Air India flight operations were hit on Monday after the airline’s service engineers, who lost a colleague last week in a gruesome accident, continued to stay off certain duties to pursue their demand for better working conditions. The work load of readying aircraft for depature and giving engine start-up clearance fell onto the airline’s aircraft maintenance engineers who in turn decided to go by the book and handle only one departure at a time. The delayed departures left thousands of passengers stranded across airports in the country.

Air India denied that its operations have been hit. However, the display board at the Mumbai airport told a different story. Among the departures out of Mumbai which were delayed were the ones to Udaipur (AI 643), Goa (AI 661), Rajkot (AI 665), Delhi (AI 660), Nagpur (AI 629), Bangalore (AI 607), Hyderabad (AI 619). There were flights which left on time as well, for instance AI 687 to Delhi departed at its scheduled time of 4pm. Among the worst hit was the flight to Udaipur which was delayed by over four hours, Bangalore which had a two-hour delay. Most of the other flights departed an average of an hour behind schedule.

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Delayed flight? Here are 5 things to make the wait less painful

Tips to help you make the wait less boring and stressful

by Nataraj Rao - Flight delays can be very frustrating for commuters, especially for those who have travelled a long way with several connecting flights, gone through a long queue at security check, boarding, immigration and customs; not to mention surviving the heavy traffic while initially making it to the airport itself. Here are five things you can do to reduce frustration and boredom while waiting long hours at the airport. 

Air travel is becoming affordable nowadays with advance bookings, and being a very convenient and fast means of travel to distant destinations, more travelers are opting for it. With increase in air traffic and many other limiting factors, several airlines are unable to meet their on-time departures/arrival schedules. Bad weather and foggy climate also adds to the delays. 

Ensuring on-time flights are definitely beyond our control, but here are a few things that you can do during the next time your flight is delayed. These tips may help you refresh and make the wait less stressful. 

1. Don’t stay hungry and thirsty: Keep yourself hydrated and satisfy your stomach. The waiting and frustration can easily make you forget your body and health. It’s important to have lot of water and sufficient quantity of food to stay healthy, active and alert. Have some food, tea, coffee or juice at the food joints there. Half an hour can thus be easily spent. 

2. Use your phones/pad or laptop: The things you can do with your cell phone nowadays are innumerable. You can check out your destination, find out all places worth visiting which you might have missed out earlier. Make custom maps and plan your trip even better if you couldn’t do much planning earlier. For others, you can call or skype your family or friends, play a game or poke a friend on social networks. 

This of course, needs some pre planning. Charge your smart phone / pad or tablet sufficiently earlier, switch off your phone completely when you are in flight and not just putting it in flight mode. Always carry a power bank (sufficiently charged) as a backup power source. Some airports offer charging stations, but they are always occupied. Considering all this would help you listen your favorite music, watch videos, connect to airport Wi-Fi and browse, or use the cellular data if you are in your home country. 

3. Read a book: Carry a book in your backpack that you can read. For some travelers, smartphones aren't their thing. If you are one of them, carry your favorite books or buy a magazine from the store at transit. Books and magazines at the airport may have an additional premium making their charges higher. For kindle owners, download your favorite books in your kindle and also ensure that it’s sufficiently charged. 

4. Take a nap: For people who have travelled a long way, it’s really okay to take a seat and have a short nap. Before you do so, ensure that you have an estimated arrival/departure time by looking at the schedule displayed on the monitors or by contacting the ground staff. Set an alarm close to that time and take a quick nap. It helps refresh your mind and body and is an easy way to kill your time. 

5. Make a friend: This isn't easy as not many people like to be social with strangers especially those grumpy ones who are also frustrated waiting due to the delay. But, there are a few people who aren't interested in technology or books, and like a healthy conversation with people around and make friends. Try having a conversation with a person sitting next to you, if that person isn’t really doing anything other than waiting. If you are a female, you have to proceed with caution if it’s a man you speak with. Being too friendly may give them wrong signals in some cases. 

Hope these minimal tips will help you fight boredom during your waits at the airport. Know some more ways to make the wait less frustrating? Do tell us your experience and suggestions! 

Happy journeys! 

Airlines must pay for delays

Airlines have paid passengers total compensation of around VND10 billion (US$450,000) since July for delayed flights after the Ministry of Transport issued a circular making such fines mandatory.

According to the Viet Nam Aviation Authority, the rate of delayed and postponed flights during the period was 15 – 20 per cent.

“Ninety per cent of delayed flights is because of aircraft coming back late and 5 per cent is because of technical faults,” the Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourer) newspaper quoted Pham Vu Cuong, deputy director of HCM City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport Authority, as saying.

Delays caused by airport problems like waiting for passengers or traffic congestion are rare, at just 2 – 3 per cent, he said.

The general director of a budget airlines said carriers did not want to delay flights since they pay a lot of money to buy or lease airplanes and to pilots and cabin staff.... Read More

Several flights delayed due to Customs officers’ strike at BIA

A number of flights bound for Bejing, London, Lahore and Singapore were delayed due to a sudden strike launched by Customs officials on duty at the Bandaranaike International Airport, in protest against their baggage being checked by airport security officials.

Customs officials on duty at the BIA said that their baggage especially food items and beverages were subject to strict screening by the airport security officials.

One of the Customs officials on duty at the BIA on condition of anonymity told the Daily News that their food items and beverages were screened through the X ray machines installed at the Airport.

“Screening our foods and beverages through X ray machines is a health hazard,” he said

However, the strike was called off after a discussion with the authorities handling security at the Airport

Customs Spokesman Leslie Gamini when contacted by the Daily News confirmed that an incident had taken place at the BIA, but, refused to make any comment.

He said that the Customs Director General will make a formal statement over this incident later.

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500 flights canceled at Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport has canceled about 500 flights Tuesday morning and hundreds of other flights have been delayed on average nearly four hours, officials say.

The snowstorm dropped 7.7 inches of snow at DIA., according to the National Weather Service.

Gusting winds and reduced visibility added to the delays. The average delay for departures was nearly four hours according to DIA spokeswoman Mindy Crane..

It could take about a day to clear out any snow-related backlog, said Jeff Price, an aviation security expert and professor of aviation at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

"The airlines, unfortunately, almost tend to overbook themselves constantly these days, so there's not a lot of room," he said.

If airlines run out room to squeeze passengers in on upcoming scheduled flights, some will bring in additional aircraft to bolster their fleets, he said. Denver could be in a good position in that regard, he said.

"We have Southwest, United and Frontier that all hub here, two with maintenance facilities (here)," he said. "In a city with three hubbing airlines, that actually benefits everyone."

Read :
Common Causes of Flight Delays and Your Associated Rights as a Passenger

"The delays are just building and building and building," he said.

Despite the heavy snow, most flights at DIA have not been canceled, Crane pointed out.

"We're keeping aircraft moving," he said.

Pena Boulevard was briefly closed in both directions at about 5:20 a.m. because of a traffic accident, said Heath Montgomery, DIA spokesman.

That accident was cleared but caused additional backups as snow plows cleared the roads. Motorists should expect winter conditions and plan for extra travel time out to the airport.

"People should definitely check their flights. That's extremely important," Crane said.

Passengers can check their flight status with their airline or at www.FlyDenver.com.

Snow-removal crews were deployed overnight and remain active for the duration of the snow, Crane said.

DIA has more than 250 pieces of airside snow removal equipment, 110 pieces of equipment for landside parking lots and roadways, and more than 500 trained snow-removal personnel.

The equipment being deployed for this storm includes blowers, brooms, blades, plows, runway sanders, 4,000 gallon chemical trucks, loaders with box plows and snow melters, the news release says.

The airlines are expected to be in full de-icing operations, so passengers should expect to spend a little extra time on the aircraft prior to departure. The average de-icing time is approximately 16 minutes, but can vary based on the type of aircraft.

News Source : denverpost.com

Small mistake delayed 30 flights and left one plane grounded for 10 hours

WHEN crew members of a passenger plane reported sparks coming from an engine while taxiing at an airport in southern China, eight fire trucks responded within minutes.

But they covered the wrong plane with white foam.

The mistake at the Fuzhou city airport on Thursday was quickly amended and the firefighters turned their attention to the correct plane, but the other one — with passengers aboard — was delayed 10 hours and 30 flights were delayed in total, the airport said in a statement.

The Air China flight had reported the problems in a right-side engine of a Boeing 737-800 for a flight headed to Beijing.

By the time firefighters arrived four minutes later, engines were switched off.

However, a Fuzhou Airlines plane of the same make had exhaust fumes coming from its tail.

The firefighters sprayed the Fuzhou Airlines plane with foam until the airport’s control centre alerted them to the mistake, and then they sprayed the right plane, the airport said.

Fuzhou Airlines said its plane was covered with white foam and had to be towed away to check its engines. It took off about 10 hours later.

The airport apologised for the inconvenience.

News Source : news.com.au