Meet Ava, the "latest and greatest in next-generation public advertising technology." Yesterday the Port Authority unveiled a new helpful hologram intended to help travelers at information kiosks in all three major NYC airports. Here's video of the so-called "avatar" in action—created by Cyberdyne Systems AirportOne, the eerily lifelike Ava insists, "I'm so versatile, I can be used for just about anything": more ›

The TSA communications department has really been hustling lately, sending out a flurry of press releases with photos and stories about all the potentially dangerous things stupid people try to sneak onto flights. Fruits of the TSA's recent security theater include: land mine casings (filled with shrapnel, but no explosives), three stuffed animals with gun parts inside, a trio of dainty yet deadly throwing knives, and a pepper spray canister gun with a sparkly silver trigger (WANT!). Click through on the photos for the TSA's stories about their recent scores. more ›

A TSA agent at JFK "started screaming at me and cursing me and threatening me," says a Long Island man who used his cell phone to videotape what he describes as an unnecessarily "aggressive" security screening of his developmentally disabled daughter. Dr. Joshua Frank, a Long Island pediatrician, is the father of Dina Frank, a girl with cerebral palsy who walks with crutches and leg braces. She can't pass through metal detectors for this reason, and is usually patted down by security agents, a procedure that frightens her. And the Frank family tells The Daily that on Monday the procedure was particularly harrowing. more ›

Understandably (and unsurprisingly) outraged that over 200 luggage thefts occur every day at JFK Airport, Senator Charles Schumer has a solution: “I think there should be some undercover agents in the belly of the plane,” Schumer told CBS. "They’re probably less able to be caught, less able to be seen, but the answer to that would be having undercover agents there who can witness this.” Yes, the industry that can't be bothered to give us six peanuts to distract us from the pain of compressing our spines into a "seat" will surely put a dragnet in every plane. more ›

In the wake of a lot of bad press about overzealous TSA screeners strip-searching and frisking senior citizens at airports, the TSA has announced that it will grant the elderly a modicum of dignity at a handful of airports. Starting next week, the agency will begin testing modified screening procedures for passengers 75 and older at airports in Chicago, Denver, Portland, and Orlando. At these airports, travelers over 75 will no longer be required to remove their shoes "and light outerwear." more ›

Former Playboy enthusiast and Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert of Top Chef fame gave his favorite airport dining spots to the Wall Street Journal, and shockingly Cinnabon didn't make the list. Correctly noting that "there's always time to eat in airports, because flights are always being delayed," Ripert chooses the pizza joint Crust at LaGuardia for their "thin crust, well seasoned, good-quality ingredients," and Bobby Van's Steakhouse at JFK. If we could eat the sense of helpless rage, we wouldn't need a $40 steak. more ›

Making it past airport TSA screening with that illegal substance that does not harm your lungs and has never killed anyone, is difficult but not impossible. But 43-year-old Adam Blumenkranz was arrested on a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Newark for allegedly smoking dope. Crew members told the AP that they gave Blumenkranz the stink eye after he "dropped a clear plastic bag in the cabin." more ›

When it comes to bad airports, New York is number one! At least that's what a story in Frommer's would have us believe. In a list of the ten worst airport terminals in the world, the travel company singled out all three of New York's major airports for consideration. Why? "In large part because they're run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a hideously mismanaged money sink that does a poor job of responding to air travelers' needs." more ›

Flying sucks. If your crotch isn't felt up by the rubber gloves of Safety and all your coke isn't confiscated, then chances are they'll stick you next to a colic-y set of twins or Alec Baldwin. And that's if the flight isn't delayed or cancelled. Now, the gross noroviruses that have been known to ruin grandma's cruises have been plaguing airlines, including several successive Air New Zealand flights. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and calling people "Shirley." more ›

A tipster just sent us this photo taken from Gate 14 of JFK's JetBlue terminal showing a fire on the airfield. Sarah Jenny writes, "A woman just flipped out at her husband and threatened to not get on the plane. Some people freaked out, some people not noticing." Others have taken to Twitter to report the fire, with one saying that it appears to be under control. We're currently awaiting comment from the Port Authority, and will update when more information becomes available. more ›

If you traveled through Newark Airport yesterday, chances are no one saw your naughty parts! (Unless you're into that sort of thing.) According to the Post, Newark was the first area airport to implement the "why-didn't-we-do-this-initially" step of using computer software that shows drastically less detail in their full-body scanners. Presumably the only people upset by the move are those who really feel the need for other people to scope out their 8-Minute Abs. more ›

As anyone who's watched Meet the Parents all the way to the end knows, airport security takes bomb threats very seriously. Even joking about having a bomb can get you arrested. So can drawing a picture of a bomb and writing the word "Boom" on friend's suitcase, as daffy prankster Danisa Landaeta recently discovered. more ›

A US Airways flight at LaGuardia bound for Charlotte, North Carolina was aborted minutes before takeoff yesterday after the pilot noticed an unauthorized man wandering around by the runway, mere feet from the plane. A police official tells the Post the man, Andre Reid, was walking by the Airbus 321 "like he was taking a stroll in his backyard." Upon spotting Reid, the pilot reportedly became "spooked" and decided to "dump" the flight, meaning all the passengers and all the luggage had to be transferred to a different plane. Just another day at our "third world airport." more ›

The U.S. Department of Transportation has updated its Passenger Bill of Rights and the new rules are good for the common flyer. Highlights include the fact that, when the new rules start in a few months, airlines will not be able to keep international flights on the tarmac for more than four hours and they'll have to reimburse luggage fees for lost lost luggage. Also the amount of money you are eligible for if you are involuntarily bumped from a flight is being doubled. more ›

[UPDATE: Video of an angry mob below] The FAA isn't telling us the whole truth. Their website says that all local airports are operating with departure and arrival delays of "15 minutes or less," but seems to be ignoring the fact that many flights have been stuck on the tarmac for 12 hours at JFK. The Post reports that Jeff Chong was "left to rot" with passengers on a flight from Vancouver because there weren't enough open gates at JFK. But that doesn't compare to the man at risk of missing the Prince show at MSG tonight because he's been stuck at O’Hare since Sunday. more ›

A massive snowstorm shut down airports across Europe this past week and though many of them are back up and running London's Heathrow isn't quite on the horse yet. Officials don't expect it to be fully operational until tomorrow. Which means thousands of Brits are stranded in New York. So what are they doing while they wait? Shopping, from what the Post gathers (good for the economy!). But honestly, we would have expected more folks on Craigslist looking for some company while they waited... Our quick search turned up only one lonely traveller looking for some company (or rather, only one who put the storm in their in ad). more ›

Flight delays at New York's three major airports cause a ripple effect that snarls air traffic nationwide, and the U.S. Office of the Inspector General wants the FAA to please consider possibly doing something about it. A new report [pdf] stops short of demanding that the FAA reduce the number of flights scheduled at the airports, but calls upon the FAA to "reexamine" the scheduling rules, or else... there might be another report in a couple of years! Right now one-quarter of all flights in and out of New York and Newark end up delayed or canceled. more ›

Behold, the TSA's new poster aimed towards photographers, as spotted by Carlos Miller. He writes that they "explicitly insinuate that if you are taking a picture of an airplane, you must be a terrorist and be reported to the authorities." As PetaPixel points out, "apparently the administration doesn’t know that there’s a huge number of non-terrorist photographers who enjoy doing something called aviation photography." Looks like airplanes are the new subways! more ›

Unlicensed cab drivers are charging tourists $120 a pop for a ride from the airports to Manhattan, and Inside Edition is mad as hell about it. In one of their priceless hidden camera exposés, airing tonight at 6 p.m., the show's muckrakers put their lives on the line to show you what you hopefully already knew: shady individuals are preying on people at the airport. more ›

The roundup of Canada geese around NYC airports is now nearly halfway complete with a total of 800 having been trapped and gassed. Operation "Goose-Be-Gone" has now removed geese from 15 of the 40 sites within 5 miles of Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports that is expected to kill around 2,000 birds. However one wildlife expert told the Queens Tribute that the city's removal program is only skimming the surface. Dr. Steven Graber said, “They’re definitely on the right track. They’re finally doing what they’ve been supposed to have been doing this entire time. However, they’re forgetting about 90 percent of the property and 90 percent of the problem.” A spokesman for the mayor's office disputed that saying, “In the City, there isn’t much open space that isn’t city owned." The Times had more pictures of the geese being rounded up earlier in the week at Randalls Island. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg expressed further support for the city and Port Authority's joint plan to kill 2,000 geese during their molting season in order to prevent accidents like the one that left Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. On his radio show yesterday, Bloomberg said, "There are people who care very much about the geese. But in the end, safety of the public is No. 1. There is not a lot of cost involved in rounding up a couple thousand geese and letting them go to sleep with nice dreams. We're trying to strike a balance. In the safety of flying, the public trumps the rights of the geese...(This way is) less stressful way of eliminating geese. They actually use carbon dioxide, and they just sort of go to sleep." Geese in various city parks within five miles of local airports will begin getting rounded into portable pens where they're killed with cabon dioxide-filled chambers on Monday. Wayne Johnson, a "free-land activist," told the Post, "There's a ton of nonlethal alternatives," such as chemical repellents and goose-frightening pyrotechnics. more ›

In other Flight 1549 news, the city and Port Authority are embarking on a plan to kill at least 2,000 pesky Canada geese living within 5 miles of airports. Mayor Bloomberg said, "The serious dangers that Canada geese pose to aviation became all too clear when geese struck US Airways Flight 1549. The incident served as a catalyst to strengthen our efforts in removing geese from - and discouraging them from nesting on - city property near our runways." more ›

The TSA tends to get a bad rap and often ends up the recipient of frequent gripes, especially in the city whose airports lead to three-quarters of takeoff delays nationwide. Maybe it has something to do with the times when we hear that we're waiting in a line that winds down the escalator because they're confiscating cheese, yet having no trouble letting through a passenger with a Hezbollah flag featuring a man wielding an AK-47. more ›

A new report from the business-oriented group Partnership For NYC says that local air traffic congestion cost our economy $2.6 billion last year. Delays that stem from the one-third of nationwide flights that go through New York end up having an impact in causing a delay in three-quarters of the nation's flights. Kathryn Wylde, the head of Partnership, thinks that it's time to modernize air-traffic control and routes that planes use nationwide—a move that would cost an estimated $22 billion. Doing so would allow planes to take full advantage of satellite-based air navigation and no longer only use long and straight arrival paths. She thinks that now is the perfect time with the downturn in the economy giving a breather to the heavy stress on air traffic "for all the wrong reasons," much like the lightening of congestion after 9/11. Wylde feels that the billions costing New York represent a much bigger cause for alarm saying, "Not having the air traffic control system is costing us $1.6, $1.7 billion a year. Put those numbers together (with other cities' costs) and $22 billion is going to look like chump change." more ›