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 ›

The TSA, flush with change from your pocket, has finally gotten around to apologizing to the elderly women who were strip-searched at the JetBlue terminal at JFK over the Thanksgiving holiday. Well, sort of. more ›

It turns out that dignity isn't the only thing lost at TSA screening checkpoints. The Daily News reports that in 2010 the agency made $409,000 in loose change left behind by hurried, worn down travelers. Specifically, $376,480 in US currency and another $32,605 in foreign coins. JFK collected the most, with $46,918. "I wish they would spend that money on mood lighting," comedian Dave Hill told the paper. "If I'm going to get additional screening, how about throwing in a little more romance." Ha ha, he's referring to alleged sexual assault committed by government agents trusted to protect us, get it? more ›

Some criminals did not get their Christmas present this year. Last week Customs and Border Protection say they found nearly $300,000 in counterfeit $100 dollar bills in the bag of a woman flying into JFK from Medellin, Colombia. Sadly, the stash wasn't found by the TSA—because we'd love to have seen the note they might have left with all that fake moolah. more ›

Another day, another older woman comes forward with tales of woe from the TSA! Say hello to Linda Kallish, 66, of Boynton Beach, Florida, who says that she too was forced to take her clothes off by TSA agents at JFK Airport while trying to leave after the Thanksgiving holidays. In fact, she says she was made to strip while trying to board the same flight as 85-year-old alleged TSA-victim Lenore Zimmerman. Kallish is now the third woman to say she was stripped by TSA agents at JFK that weekend. more ›

Seems like somebody at the TSA had some issues to work out with Grandma over Thanksgiving. After this weekend's revelations regarding an 85-year-old woman being strip searched, a second elderly woman has come forward saying that she was stripped by agents at the JetBlue terminal at JFK after the holiday—in this case so that they could examine the 88-year-old's colostomy bag. Which, if you've ever known someone who had one, is an embarrassing thing to have to whip out for strangers. Even in a private room. more ›

Oh, TSA. Today, the Daily News reports that an 85-year-old woman was strip-searched earlier this week right before a flight to Fort Lauderdale—and she's really unhappy. Lenore Zimmerman, who lives on Long Island, says, "I walk with a walker — I really look like a terrorist. I’m tiny. I weigh 110 pounds, 107 without clothes"—with her hunched back, she's 4'11"—"and I was strip-searched." See her photograph here—and naturally, Zimmerman is thinking about a lawsuit, especially since the ordeal left her bloodied up. more ›

Drug traffickers, apparently tired of storing their stash in hangers, saris and sneakers, have found a new place to hide the goods: your luggage. So now you can pay a "checked baggage fee" AND bail when you're busted for being a drug mule! more ›

The TSA: When they're not hiding creepy notes in your luggage they're just straight-up stealing stuff. Two former TSA workers at JFK Airport pleaded guilty yesterday to grand larceny after they were caught swiping $40,000 from somebody's luggage. Coumar Persad, 44, of Jackson Heights, Queens, and Davon Webb, 31, of the Bronx will each serve six months in jail for their crime, which was perpetrated in January after Persad X-rayed a piece of baggage headed for an American Airlines flight. more ›

Sure, the TSA's list of prohibited items for carry-on and checked luggage might say that brass knuckles, stun guns, daggers and swords are allowed in checked bags, but when TSA agents find "four sets of brass knuckles, four stun- gun batons, a dagger and a sword" in your bags at JFK Airport, they are probably going to arrest you. Because items like brass knuckles and stun guns are illegal in New York. more ›

By now you may have heard the galling story of Lori Dorn, the breast cancer survivor who was subjected to a humiliating pat-down at JFK airport last month. Dorn wrote about the experience on her blog, igniting a media firestorm that has resulted in something as elusive as a cure for cancer: A TSA apology (albeit a qualified one). It all started when Dorn—who recently underwent a bilateral mastectomy and had tissue expanders implanted for future breast reconstruction—was going through screening to get to her Virgin Airways flight to San Francisco. But the tissue expanders set off the imaging scanner, and so the TSA demanded a pat-down. On her blog, she wrote: more ›

Yesterday, the FBI met a Delta flight that landed at JFK Airport from London. Why? Because of a suspicious passenger An early report said that a passenger or group made threats against President Obama, but MyFoxNY reports that the FBI said, "The FBI met the flight and an individual from that flight was denied entry to the U.S. There was no threat to the president." more ›

It's unclear whether Jose Acosta was working on his memoirs or simply begging to get busted when he boarded a JetBlue flight from St. Lucia to JFK carrying handwritten notes titled "Confessions of the Mule." But the Daily News reports that his handwritten confession quickly became a verbal one after he was questioned by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspector when he landed on Monday. "The charade is up: you've got me," Acosta allegedly told the inspector. Worst game of charades EVER? more ›

They're all just thieving, gropey-handed perverts until they actually catch someone: TSA agents at JFK airport nabbed a 54-year-old man yesterday with a battery-powered stun gun, three "electric stun batons," an "electric stun pen," and pepper spray. According to the Post, Mohamed Hefni was waiting in a first-class lounge to board a Saudi Airlines flight to Riyadh when he was detained for the contents of his checked bag. more ›

This morning, a Delta flight that took off from Laguardia Airport, headed toward Boston, was forced to land after a bird strike. NYC Aviation reports, "A Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 suffered an engine failure after hitting a bird over New York late Thursday morning. The flight made an emergency landing 20 minutes later without incident." more ›

This morning, a flight from JFK Airport, headed to Phoenix, was diverted to St. Louis' Lambert Airport. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the diversion was "for security reasons after three male passengers acted suspiciously, officials say." However, it wasn't a terrorist issue... it possibly has something to do with seat assignments and backgammon. more ›

The city's three major airports are resuming and rescheduling the hundreds of flights cancelled by Hurricane Irene, though officials warn that not everything is hunky dory just yet. more ›

Airlines have begun cancelling hundreds of flights to and from New York-area airports as Hurricane Irene draws closer—bad news for travelers trying to get the hell out of Dodge. more ›

The saga of the 18-year-old who, during a drunken stupor, then urinated on the 12-year-old girl on his flight continues. Robert "Sandy" Vietze was hit with a federal indecent-exposure charge. The charges detail that he was drinking before he ever got to Portland International Airport (therefore JetBlue did not serve an underage passenger!). more ›

Sneakers are popular for smuggling drugs, what with their thick soles, but who knew that saris were also used in drug trafficking? Customs and Border Protection agents became suspicious when a package shipped from India had a very strong chemical odor, so they opened up the package at JFK Airport. Inside, they found many of the Indian dresses... with heroin sewn into the hems. more ›

Turns out that Robert Vietze, the 18-year-old who allegedly got drunk and peed all over a sleeping 11-year-old girl on a JetBlue redeye to New York earlier this week, is a member of the US Ski Team who probably just pissed away his chance at Olympic glory. more ›

The JetBlue redeye from Portland to JFK made a strong bid for Worst Flight Ever yesterday, when a drunk 18-year-old boy allegedly peed all over a 11 year-old girl in her seat, which did not go over well with her father. Oh, and then someone puked. more ›

Just one more travel-induced headache: luggage-related larcenies are up almost 30 percent at JFK airport, so maybe think twice before checking that bag. And don't expect to get it back once it's gone—only 28 of the 299 complaints filed this year have lead to arrests. more ›

If you can't cop a feel, you may as well steal. Back in February, two TSA agents at JFK airport were busted for stealing $160,000 in cash from various travelers, including one $39,000 heist. Now it seems that TSA agents have found a more subtle score: stealing $100 that was a gift to a 16-year-old honor student from his grandmother. The boy's mother tells the Post that the theft was "disgusting and a violation of my son's trust." Maybe, but will this be a wakeup call to America's grannies to stop sending cash? Write a check, your handwriting is gorgeous! more ›

A Guyana-bound plane that departed from JFK airport yesterday carrying 140 people crashed and broke into two pieces around 1 a.m. this morning, seriously injuring four, but miraculously caused no deaths. A woman on the plane said there was a loud noise as the plane landed, and everyone began screaming. "It was terror," she told a Guyanese news outfit, "I was praying to Jesus." more ›

As any billionaire mayor will tell you, having dead animals on your walls really classes up the joint. If it happens to be parts of an animal that are illegal to kill, all the better. But there's good news for people who hate jerks that kill elephants: an ivory dealer who shipped his wares from Africa via JFK airport, then down to his African art store in Philadelphia has been caught. According to a release from the DOJ [pdf], authorities seized "approximately one ton of elephant ivory—one of the largest U.S. seizures of elephant ivory on record." The smuggler, 68-year-old Victor Gordon was arraigned today in Brooklyn and will be charged with 10 felonies, with a maximum sentence of 20 years. more ›

So, you know how JFK Airport's Terminal 8 was partially evacuated for 1.5 hours while the authorities—complete with the bomb squad and K9 dogs—investigated a bag left in a lounge? A bag left by a passenger who was found on a flight to San Francisco? Well, according to the Post, the passenger was an Upper West Side lawyer who made the "bonehead decision to trash his computer bag." more ›