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Elon Musk's Boring Co. to bid on Chicago airport transit link
The Boring company will bid to build a transit link between O'Hare airport and downtown Chicago, CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter. The project, unveiled on November 28th by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, aims to provide commuters with a 20-minute option to taxi or Uber rides, which cost between $40 and $60. The project could run under or below ground, and will be bankrolled "entirely by the concessionaire" and not taxpayers, the city said.
Air traffic controllers may get a break from non-stop drone reports
Air traffic controllers have it bad enough managing full-size aircraft, but they face an extra headache when you throw drones in the mix. You see, controllers get calls when drone pilots want approval to fly within 5 miles of an airport -- and with an average of 250 reported close encounters per month, it's clear that some aren't even bothering with the formalities. The FAA has clearly had enough of this, as it recently made an emergency request to bypass the usual regulations and use an automate system to approve drone flights in restricted airspace. Instead of waiting 2-3 months for clearance (or calling in at the last possible moment), you could get the A-OK within 5 minutes.
Drone hits a commercial plane for the first time in Canada
A twin-engined commercial prop aircraft has struck a drone for the first time in Canada, says Minister of Transport Marc Garneau. The Skyjet Beech King Air 100 was on approach to Jean Lesage International Airport in Québec City when it hit an unknown type of UAV. Garneau said that the drone was flying at around 1,500 feet, three miles from the airport -- 500 feet above the legal limit. The plane landed safely and sustained only minor damage, but "it could have been a lot more serious," he told the CBC.
The future of surveillance is hidden in airport ads
Public anonymity is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Coming soon to an airport in Dubai is an artsy, colorful video security and customs tunnel that scans your face, adds you to a database, indexes you with artificial intelligence and decides if you're free to leave -- or not. By the end of summer 2018, Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 will have replaced its security-clearance counter with a walkway tunnel filled with 80 face-scanning cameras disguised as a distracting immersive video.
Dubai airport will scan your face as you walk through a video tunnel
A lot of passengers come and go through Dubai airports and by 2020, they're expected to play host to some 124 million people. So in an effort to increase the efficiency of security checkpoints, Dubai International Airport is installing a tunnel outfitted with 80 facial recognition and iris scanning cameras, The National reports. The tunnel's walls can display things like virtual aquariums or deserts as well as advertisements and passengers would just have to walk through as they normally would. At the end of the tunnel, a display will either tell the passenger to have a nice trip or will alert officials to take another look.
Delta aims to replace boarding passes with fingerprints
Delta is expanding its biometric check-in feature that allows some customers to use their fingerprints instead of a boarding pass. The service was first launched at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in May and let Delta SkyMiles members enter the Delta Sky Club with their fingerprints rather than a physical ID. Now, those members can use their fingerprints to board their plane.
Denver has the fastest WiFi of any airport in North America
Airports are some of the most miserable places on earth. On top of being charged way too much for food and booze, solid internet connections can be dodgy whether you're connecting to provided WiFi or your cellular network. The folks at Speedtest have done us all a favor and surveyed the offerings at North American airports to suss out the worst to the... surprisingly not-worst. Interestingly enough, a state that legalized recreational marijuana also has the highest uploads and downloads. Denver International boasts 78.22 Mbps downloads and 78.29 Mbps on average, with Speedtest reporting that this actually increased by over 25 percent since its last look.
TSA begins testing fingerprint check-ins at two US airports
It's never a nice experience to stand in line at the airport for hours just to get a pat down when you get to the end. Hopefully, TSA's new biometric fingerprint tech could make air travel a more pleasant experience for most people. Starting this week, the Transportation Security Administration's fingerprint sensors will go through proof-of-concept testing at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and at Denver International Airport. The test will last for four weeks, and you can try it out for yourself if you registered your fingerprint as part of TSA's PreCheck program.
British Airways IT failure cancels many flights out of London (updated)
Airline glitches and the ensuing pandemonium are nothing new, but they've just hit one of the world's largest travel hubs. British Airways has suffered a global IT system failure so serious that it cancelled all its flights out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports before 6PM local time on Saturday. Some parts of BA's website and check-in features were unavailable, too, and passengers on London-bound BA flights also faced delays. They frequently can't even book new flights to make up for the old ones.
London airport to use 'digital' air traffic control tower
London City Airport will be the first in the UK to replace a traditional air traffic control tower with a "digital" one. A new, 50-metre tower will be built in the middle of the airport's long-stay car park, overlooking the runway, with 14 cameras and two custom pan-tilt-zoom cameras. The combined 360-degree footage will then be fed to a facility in Swanwick, Hampshire, where NATS, the UK's lead air traffic control provider, is already based. Operators will then monitor the live video on 14 HD screens, positioned in a circular formation to replicate a conventional tower.
Drone pilots in China have to register with the government
Americans aren't the only ones who have to register their drones. China's Civil Aviation Authority has announced that pilots will have to register any robotic flier heavier than 0.55 pounds starting on June 1st. Online registration will open up on May 18th, and the government will start publishing no-fly zone data for civilian airports on the same day. It's hoping that drone makers will use the info to implement geofencing that prevents drones from venturing into dangerous areas.
Airports may use face recognition to screen US citizens (update: more info)
Right now, the US is trotting out an airport security plan revolving around facial recognition. It's supposed to automatically register visitors to the US when they leave, and signal when they come back. However, Customs and Border Protection now wants to expand the effort to include virtually every situation where you normally need an ID -- and that could include scanning US citizens. The agency's John Wagner has floated the possibility that face recognition could also be used to scan all arrivals, TSA checkpoints and lounge access, including citizens. CBP hasn't committed to a firm plan, but it tells The Verge it wants to "open the dialogue" to people outside its walls.
San Francisco airport can now record all visitors' license plates
When you drive to the airport, you expect a certain amount of tracking, if just from security cameras. However, San Francisco International Airport might be taking things a step too far. The travel hub recently received approval from the Airport Commission to collect the license plate info for everyone who uses its roads and garages, storing that data for over 4 years. It's ostensibly meant for collecting revenue from parking and commercial drivers like taxis, but SFO has permission to release that info to both local law enforcement and the FBI.
UK also bans devices from cabins on flights from Middle East
The UK has followed the US in restricting electronic devices on flights from several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Though not identical to the measures implemented by the US, passengers on "select flights" coming to the UK from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tunisia will only be allowed to carry smartphones in the cabin. Any device bigger than 16.0 x 9.3 x 1.5cm, such as laptops, must be stored in checked, hold baggage.
TSA debunks its own airport behavior screening
If you've ever suspected that the TSA's airport behavior screening (where it looks for visual signs of lying or stress) was just another example of ineffective security theater, you now have some science to back up your hunches. Thanks to a lawsuit, the ACLU has obtained TSA files showing that the organization has pushed and even expanded its "behavior detection" program despite a lack of supporting evidence. While the TSA maintains that it can detect signs of shady activity through fidgeting, shifty eyes and other visual cues, studies in its files suggest just the opposite -- you'd have just as much success by choosing at random. And those are in controlled conditions, not a busy airport where anxiety and stress are par for the course.
Drones help expand the world's busiest airport
Drones and airports usually go together like oil and water, but you can't say that about Atlanta's air hub. The city has formed a partnership with 3DR, Autodesk and engineering firm Atkins that has drones mapping Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as part of a planned expansion. The key to making it work was Site Scan, 3DR's autonomous data capturing tech. The drones could capture 2D mosaics and 3D point scans while staying well away from the airliners -- no mean feat when they're flying between runways at the busiest airport in the world (over 100 million passengers per year).
LG made a couple of robots just for airports
Get ready for some friendly robots in your airport. LG made two different ones -- one is the Airport Guide Robot while the other is a Cleaning Robot. The Airport Guide robot, well, guides you through the airport. Simply feed it your boarding pass and it will tell you how to get to your gate and when your flight is going to take off. It can also respond to your voice, tell you the weather of your destination, and offer directions in one of four languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Oh, and there's a giant display where it shows you where to go. It can even walk you to your gate, if you prefer.
LG's robots control your home and guide you through the airport
LG said it had big plans for its robots at CES, and it wasn't kidding around. The tech giant has unveiled a handful of robotic helpers that clearly go well beyond vacuums. To start, it's introducing the Hub Robot and its Mini-size counterpart. They can control your smart home devices, play music, offer advice on commuting times and otherwise make your life a little easier, all while offering a friendly face. It basically amounts to an Amazon Echo with cute expressions, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. And, importantly, they're not alone -- they have a much bigger sibling.
Airliner's near miss with drone injures two crew members
The threat of drone collisions near airports isn't just scary -- it can lead to very real injuries, even if there's no accident. Canada's Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident where a Porter Airlines flight bound for Toronto took evasive maneuvers in an attempt to avoid a reported drone, injuring two crew members. The exact circumstances (including the nature of the injuries) isn't clear, but it took place near Billy Bishop Airport, an island hub right near Toronto's downtown core. It wouldn't have been hard for someone on the mainland to fly a drone into the path of a low-flying aircraft.
Samsung is setting up Galaxy Note 7 exchange stations in airports
Sasmung has officially cancelled the Galaxy Note 7 following its exploding battery scandal, but there are still plenty of people out there who need to exchange their phones. If you're planning to fly soon, that need got stronger a few days ago, when the US banned the phone from all flights. To help air travelers get a phone that they're actually allowed to have on a plane, Samsung is setting up exchange stations in airports to give customers refunds or a new phone.
