September's Sad,
Sad Travel Song
Sad Travel Song
The extraordinarily weird travel year of 2026 continues apace in September. There have been hurricanes and volcanoes and truly awful weather. Plus disruptive passengers, cargo-plane disasters, more sky-high energy prices and, of course, more problems with air traffic control at major global hubs. For details of the FlyDubai incident on September 30, click here. Read up from the bottom for context.
POSTS FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
HERE COMES THE NOR'EASTER
First an amazing irony: Did you hear about the Ed Sheeran shows that Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft wanted to cancel because he was unhappy with the political views of one of Sheeran's opening acts? Now the shows in Foxborough, Massachusetts, have been cancelled because of the approaching Nor'Easter. It'll apparently sock coastal New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and New England starting in the overnight hours. Winds may approach 60 miles per hour and 4-6 inches of rain are predicted. Flash flooding is also expected.
Most flights already have been cancelled Saturday at smaller airports in the region, including Martha's Vineyard (MVY), Nantucket (ACK), Barnstable (HYA), Bar Harbor (BHB) and Provincetown (PVC). At least 10% of tomorrow's flights at Boston/Logan have already been dumped, too. Since the most severe effects of the storm are expected around coastal areas, expect New York/JFK to take a big hit tomorrow.
If you can, defer your travel to/from/through New York, New Jersey and New England until at least Tuesday. It'll take a few days for airlines (and Amtrak) to reset. Besides, downed power lines, flooding and debris will make many roads impassable. Here's what the National Weather Service says.
HURRICANE NOLO NEAR HAWAII
There's a Hurricane Watch in effect for the Big Island of Hawaii and a Tropical Storm Watch has posted for Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui and Lanai. The 8pm ET report from the National Weather Service says Hurricane Nolo has maximum winds approaching 105 miles per hour. Current location: about 155 miles south of South Point on the Big Island, the southernmost part of the state. More details are here.
HURRICANE POLO NEAR MEXICO
Hurricane Polo is wavering between a Category 4 and a Category 5 storm. It dumped heavy rains on coastal parts of Mexico yesterday and is now headed toward Baja California. The worst effects there are forecast for the end of the weekend into next week. The New York Times is blogging on the storm here.
NOSOUP COMPENSATION FOR YOU
KLM says passengers on the Amsterdam-Curacao flight that diverted back to Schiphol last week will not receive compensation for the ordeal. As you'll recall, there was an in-flight fire on the Boeing 777 caused when a passenger was charging a lithium-ion power pack. You know that is a global in-flight no-no. And you recall that the idiot passenger was a former president and chief executive officer of KLM. NLTimes.nl has the details.
NO-TRAINING DAY
Some public service unions in Belgium are gearing up for strikes on Friday, October 9, and Monday, October 12. That means disruptions to the country's rail services, including at Brussels/Zaventem Airport. If tradition holds, the national rail system, SNCB, will publish alternate strike schedules. One bit of good news: Effective Wednesday, the air traffic controllers serving Brussels/Charleroi Airport suspended their rolling overnight strikes.
LA VIE EN ROSE
Apparently everything is coming up financial roses for Air France. Revenue from premium travel is up 11% this year and that, together with aggressive price increases, is more than offsetting higher energy prices. "We've raised prices significantly," chief executive Ben Smith told Reuters. Yet premium class business is "quite solid. It's better than we expected."
GEE WHIZ …
Wizz Air, the Budapest-based low-fare/high-fee carrier with a strong schedule around East and Central Europe, says high fuel costs are forcing it to cut 5% of its capacity.
WAR, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
Apparently the answer to today's musical question is: War depresses energy demand, that lowers carbon emissions and that's good for the planet. The Washington Post has an explainer about how the Iran War has dragged on for so long that climate researchers note noxious emissions have decreased. Here's a free link.
POSTS FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
POLO AND NOLO AND NOR'EASTER, OH MY!
Three storms are likely to impact travel starting tomorrow and through the weekend:
Hurricane Polo is once again a Category 5 storm as it makes its way to Mexico's Pacific Coast and Baja California. According to the 7:30pm ET update from the National Weather Service (NWS), maximum sustained winds are 160 miles per hour. Polo is already lashing coastal areas with high winds and heavy rains. Its location is 145 South-Southwest of Zihuatanejo and 265 miles South-Southeast of Manzanillo. The storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of 4-6 inches across coastal portions of Guerrero state. Rainfall of 2-4 inches is possible in coastal portions of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco.
Tropical Storm Nolo is churning toward Hawaii's Big Island, which was hit hard last month by Hurricane Lala. As of the 8pm ET update from the NWS, Nolo is about 305 miles south of South Point, the southernmost bit of land on the Big Island. A hurricane watch is already posted for the Big Island. The storm is expected to reach the island late Friday or Saturday. Nolo's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph and the storm is forecast to reach hurricane strength tomorrow. United Airlines is up with a travel waiver for flights to/from Kona (KOA) on the Big Island and Kahului (OGG) on Maui. Hawaiian Airlines has a travel waiver for flights to/from Hilo (ITO) on the Big Island.
An Early Nor'easter is forming off-shore near the Carolinas and is expected to hit coastal areas of Mid-Atlantic and New England states this weekend. Weather pros at the NWS say they can't predict the storm's strength or path, but they warn anywhere from the Carolinas to New England can expect heavy wind and as much as six inches of rain. You do not need me to tell you that there are many hub airports along the East Coast at risk. If you expect to fly to or from the East this weekend, have a Plan B in place and watch the forecasts carefully.
PLANE CRAZY
What aircraft manufacturer Embraer called a GPS "instability" problem on its E190-E2 and E195-E2 planes led to widespread groundings Tuesday afternoon. There are about 200 of the E2 variants in service with around two dozen airlines. Azul Brazilian Airlines, for example, grounded 43 of its E2s. Toronto-based Porter Airlines operates about 50 and KLM's Cityhopper unit uses at least 20. Porter only cancelled about a dozen flights Tuesday, but Azul dumped more than 120. That's about 14% of its scheduled operation. The problem, which affects the information that pilots see on navigation systems, seems solved today. The wonky system is manufactured by Honeywell and can be corrected with what is essentially a system reboot. Airlines are reluctant to do that during flights, however, which explains yesterday's grounding and cancellations.
THE BLAME GAME
Here's the final tale of the tape on the bizarre cut-cable incident at the Philadelphia TRACON that led to chaos for much of the day, especially at Philadelphia and Newark airports. At least 100 flights were diverted from Newark during the day. From 9:38am to 5:22pm ET, there were no landings at all at EWR, according to FlightRadar24.com. For the day, about 55% of Newark flights were cancelled. It was about 22% at Philadelphia. Delays along the East Coast were also severe.
As to what happened, a primary circuit went out at the Philadelphia TRACON and the secondary system did not respond. The reason? A fiber-optic cable was severed at approximately 9:45am near New Brunswick, New Jersey. The FAA initially blamed Verizon. Verizon blamed Amtrak construction work near the cable. Amtrak said it wasn't doing the work and blamed New Jersey Transit. NJT said a third-party construction crew inadvertently cut the cable. The crew pointed out that it was working about 10 feet from where utility markings said the cable supposedly was located.
YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP …
Football coach turned U.S. Senator turned Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville took to the Senate floor Tuesday and delivered a 20-minute speech against transgender people. But folded into the commentary was this claim: "Many airline pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community. Lord help us. It’s terrifying when you think about this. When you walk onto a commercial flight, it’s possible that the pilot flying your plane could have a deranged fetish of dressing up like an animal. You can't make this up." Here's the clip via X.com.
I had to look up the meaning of "furry community." I then checked every publicly available DOT and FAA record. There is no reference to anyone ever piloting a commercial aircraft wearing an animal suit. What flight deck personnel do in their private lives--and what Sen. Tuberville may know about them--is literally beyond my research reach.
POSTS FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
MEN AT WORK, LITTLE FLYING
If the FAA is to believed--and, in fairness, no reason to disbelieve them--there was a failure of a primary circuit this morning at the Philadelphia TRACON. When it tried to switch to the back-up systems, the employees learned that about 600 feet of fiber cable had been cut. That cable, which runs parallel to Amtrak rail lines in New Jersey, belongs to Verizon. "Construction contractors working in the area dug up and cut our cable," the telecom giant said. (In other words, don't blame us if you can't fly.)
The result? No data and no radio communications along much of the East Coast--and hours of ground stops, delays, cancellations and diversions from Raleigh-Durham north to Boston. Worse, the situation is ongoing and it may be tomorrow before things noticeably improve.
As of 5pm ET, about half of Newark's arrival and departure schedule has been cancelled. About 40% of Philadelphia flights are delayed and about 20% are cancelled. (A reminder: Newark's flight operations were moved to the Philadelphia TRACON in 2024). Boston/Logan and New York/LaGuardia have heavy delays, too. Teterboro (TEB), the New York Metro area's primary private-jet airport, experienced delays as long as six hours.
Also worth noting: It isn't just us peon flyers being affected today. A crucial session of the UN General Assembly begins tomorrow, so dignitaries from around the world are descending on Manhattan. And President Trump flew to New York today on Marine One, the presidential helicopter. He's in town for the General Assembly, so that means days of blocked streets and ground traffic diversions around New York City to go with the flight chaos.
DUJUAN TO KNOW ABOUT THIS?
Typhoon Dujuan is raking Japan's Pacific Coast and has been dumping copious amounts of rainfall around the country all weekend. One example: The town of Oshima on Tokyo's Ozu Islands received about 33 inches of rain in 48 hours up to 10pm Monday (local time). That's more than twice the average rainfall for the entire month of September, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Meanwhile, Tokyo's Chiba Prefecture, home to Narita Airport, absorbed nearly 16 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. You know what that means: Massive cancellations around Japan. About 500 flights today were dumped at Narita and Tokyo/Haneda airports. At New Chitose (CTS) serving Sapporo, about 40% of the flights have been delayed. This comes after an earlier storm (and an earthquake) this summer caused heavy delays and cancellations around the country.
DIDN'T THEY JUST DO THIS?
Only two weeks after a massive air traffic control failure in Britain, it has happened again. A two-hour connectivity glitch today at the national air traffic control facility in Prestwick, Scotland, played havoc with flights. Around 200 flights were cancelled and hundreds more delayed around England, Scotland and Wales. Here's how the BBC covered it.
THAT'S NOT ALL, FOLKS …
Today's global flying chaos comes after a miserable flying weekend around the United States, caused mainly by the heavy storms in the Midwest and East. There were almost 9,000 delays nationwide on Sunday after 6,300 on Saturday. Saturday was very bad for some major hubs. Sixty percent of flights at Chicago/O'Hare ran late and a third were off-schedule at Atlanta/Hartsfield. Yesterday, about 40% of flights were delayed at DFW.
THE REST OF SEPTEMBER LOOKS BAD, TOO
There will be no respite for travelers for the rest of the month, either. Next Tuesday (September 29), there'll be a nationwide series of strikes in France. Labor unions at SNCF, the national rail system, plan on joining the work stoppages. So train service will be erratic, to say the least. September 30 brings a four-hour nationwide air traffic control strike in Italy. The strike is set for 1pm to 5pm local time, so plan accordingly. And remember: There are ongoing strike actions at Barcelona/El Prat (ground workers) and Brussels/Charleroi (air traffic controllers). Meanwhile, the U.S. National Weather Service predicts a week of heavy storms that are sure to scramble air travel throughout the country.
POSTS FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
A BILLION HERE, A BILLION THERE …
We've gone eight months since the start of the Iran conflict without referencing the late Sen. Everett Dirksen's classic quote: A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money. But we're now getting a sense of exactly how much this little affair is costing. According to the Brown University Iran War Energy Cost Tracker, rising gasoline and diesel prices have cost us at least $110.5 billion since the start of the war. Totally understandable. The AAA says today's average nationwide price of a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.475, up from $2.98 on February 28, the day the war began. Meanwhile, diesel hit another all-time high of $6.486 today, up from $3.76 on February 28. There's much more pain ahead. Brent crude, the global standard, closed just north of $103 a barrel yesterday. That's up nearly 70% since the beginning of the year.
RULES FOR THEE, NOT FOR ME …
KLM Flight 735 from Amsterdam to Curacao turned back to Schiphol on Thursday after a cabin fire caused by a passenger's power bank. The Boeing 777 departed Amsterdam just after 3pm local time and was back at Schiphol around 8:45pm. The almost six-hour flight to nowhere began with a nearly two-hour departure delay, too. The power pack was being charged when it caught fire, injuring the passenger and damaging the cabin wall. As every flyer on the planet knows, you can carry power packs, but airlines and regulatory agencies expressly prohibit using or charging them in flight. So who was the dumb passenger who hurt himself, damaged an aircraft and inconvenienced hundreds of his fellow flyers? Camiel Eurlings, a businessman, politician and, oh, by the way, the former president and chief executive of KLM.
DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS …
The airlines are all-in on publicity when they launch new routes, but are … um, let's say circumspect … when they make cuts. But it's hard to avoid notice when airlines speak at an industry gathering while oil prices spike. So it was Wednesday at a Morgan Stanley financial conference. United Airlines chief financial officer Michael Leskinen told the gathering that his airline would cut flights in December and cancel more in 2027's first quarter if necessary. Southwest Airlines CFO Tom Doxey added: "If fuel is higher for longer" Southwest's "natural response" would be to cut capacity. Meanwhile, American CFO Devon May said fourth-quarter fuel prices are running about a buck a gallon higher than the carrier's July projections. (Every penny that fuel prices rise adds $10 million in quarterly costs, he said.) May said American would trim fourth-quarter capacity to offset at least some of the rising prices.
STRIKING TALES …
Icelandair says that its mechanics have called a strike starting at midnight (local time) on Wednesday, September 23. It's offering a travel waiver for passengers booked on September 23 and 24. Meanwhile, air traffic controllers who manage traffic at Charleroi (CRL), Brussels' second airport, are striking every night between 10pm and 8am local time. About 50 flights a day, mostly by Ryanair, are being dumped. Failing a settlement, the nightly strike is due to last until October 10.
DUBIOUS IN DUBAI …
Emirates Airline and Dubai airports officials lately have trumpeted their respective revivals. Western airlines are more dubious. United Airlines schedules show that its Newark-Dubai route won't return until at least late March. A restart had previously been announced for February. Meanwhile, Air France again has cancelled its Paris/CDG-Dubai flights. As of September 14, they're off until at least October 13 after restarting the service last month. Its corporate partner KLM says flights to Dubai (and Riyadh and Dammam, Saudi Arabia) are off until at least October 24. And it looks like British Airways has permanently cancelled its London/Heathrow-Abu Dhabi flights. Its LHR-Dubai route, at least for the moment, is due to resume in November.
FLYING AND VOTING AND KVETCHING …
As you may know, Israel does not generally allow absentee voting and a national election is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27. That means many Israeli citizens in the United States, Canada and elsewhere are booking flights home so they can vote. But because everything everywhere is political (and voting is, of course, politics), some oppose initiatives helping the Israeli diaspora return. The Washington Post explains it.
ARCH ENEMIES …
Many groups bitterly oppose the so-called victory arch in Washington proposed by President Trump. But of concern here is whether the massive arch would interfere with aviation at Washington/National Airport. Trump's plan envisions a 250-foot-high arch less than a mile from DCA and within the airport's busiest flight path. The FAA said yesterday that the arch would not pose a hazard to airport operations, but it does want a "nonstandard eternal flame" on top to warn pilots. The agency previously suggested traditional red obstruction lights. TheHill.com has background.
OH, THE HUMANITY …
I can only hope you weren't transiting Chicago/O'Hare on Thursday. Morning thunderstorms in Chicagoland made for a bloody travel day. There was an hours-long FAA ground stop and ORD ran about 40% on-time for the day. That's more than 1,800 flights off-schedule. Another 200 or so flights were cancelled. Think of all those bedraggled connecting flyers hoping to get somewhere or get help from United or American and sitting cheek-by-jowl at boarding gates and at airport clubs …
POSTS FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
BLUE HAWAII … AND NOT THE ELVIS KIND
You may recall (I certainly did not) that 1961's Blue Hawaii was the first of three Elvis flicks shot in what was then the new (just two years) 50th state of the union. Many tourist experts attribute at least a part of Hawaii's rise as a vacation destination to the power of those Elvis films. Blue Hawaii was mostly shot on the island of Kauai and many scenes revolve around the now defunct, but atmospheric and quirky, Coco Palms Resort. Why does this matter now? After sustaining serious damage caused by the heavy rains, high winds and surging surf caused by Hurricane Lowell, tourism officials are advising visitors to avoid Kauai. (This is no small ask: Four in ten jobs on Kauai rely on tourism.) Thousands remain without power on the picturesque, mostly rural, island. And even places that suffered no structural damage, like the Sheraton Coconut Beach Resort, closed because there's been no power. "Our hope is that visitors will adjust their travel plans [and bypass Kauai] instead of canceling their trip to Hawaii altogether," writes Hawaii Tourism Authority chief Caroline Anderson.
IF IT'S TUESDAY, THIS MUST BE EES
The never-ending crisis that is Europe's Entry Exit System has another new wrinkle. A Times of London piece yesterday says that the European Union is allowing nine countries to continue to circumvent the biometric scheme and faulty airport (and seaport and rail station) kiosks. According to The Times, these countries have the EU's blessing to scrap EES when entry and exit lines are long: France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland. The notable information here: There's been no pushback on the report from the EU, nor has it denied follow-up reporting from outlets such as The Guardian. As you know, EES became "mandatory" in April, meaning all travelers entering and exiting the Schengen Zone were supposed to use kiosks to give passport, photo and fingerprint data. But the balky kiosks caused immediate issues and the EU backed off through the summer by issuing "emergency" authorization to delay kiosk use as required. That emergency authority officially ended earlier this month, but there are still bottlenecks. Worth noting: Spain is using EES at all times, so plan accordingly. And do not assume you'll have easy or clear sailing in the nations with the new dispensation. Even when kiosk use is suspended, airports often do not have sufficient staff to handle the crowds. Here's yesterday's original report from The Times.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD … BUT LITTLE OIL
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline today is $4.328, according to the AAA. That is more than 25 cents higher than a month ago. Diesel? $6.269 a gallon, a new record, says the AAA. That's the comparatively good news. The bad news? On the consumption side, Costco has increased the price of synthetic motor oil and limited its sale. Kirkland Signature full-synthetic oil, Costco's house brand, now costs around $58 for a 5-quart two-pack, double last year's price. Costco is limiting customers to two boxes a week. Costco also says sales of Mobil 1 full-synthetic oil, now selling for about $44 for a six pack of one-quart bottles, is limited to five per member. Meanwhile, Brent Crude, the global oil standard, is selling above $108 a barrel on world markets at 12:30pm ET. That's up more than 75% year-to-date. The background you know--or should know. The Strait of Hormuz is basically closed. Iran-backed Houthi rebels around Yemen are deterring Saudi Arabia (and other countries) from using alternate routes and methods. A Gulf-country-only meeting scheduled for yesterday collapsed because the Saudis and the Iranians aren't talking. A crucial Saudi pipeline will be out of service for as long as five weeks after a Houthi drone attack last week. And, oh, yes, President Trump's promised 4-6-week "not a war" against Iran is in its seventh month.
JOE (AND OTHER FLYERS) VERSUS THE VOLCANO
Catania Airport (CTA), Italy's fifth-busiest and Sicily's primary facility, is closed again. The culprit? New ash emissions from Mount Etna. CTA shut down yesterday afternoon (local time) and isn't due to open before 10pm tonight (local time). Catania has been closed repeatedly in recent weeks as Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, continues to blow its top.
ALL STATISTICS GREAT AND SMALL
U.S. airline traffic in June fell 1.4% compared to June, 2025, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That follows a .7% year-over-year decline in May. I'm not suggesting anything other than the fact that air traffic is falling, however slightly, as prices rise and travelers dislike the overall experience. That said, BTS reported 75.5 million domestic and 12 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in June. That's pretty great, all things considered.
FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY
Emirates Airline says in a statement that it is now operating at around 93% of its pre-Iran War capacity. The airline, which has not discounted to woo travelers back to its Dubai hub, says it is adding capacity to otherwise hard-to-reach destinations such as Hanoi and Accra, Ghana. Meanwhile, citing rapidly escalating jet-fuel prices, Air Baltic of Latvia has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New York court. But Air Baltic's bad luck isn't all due to rampaging energy costs. The airline has expanded wildly in recent years to establish Riga as a hub for European travel. The airline has a fleet of 50 Airbus aircraft and another 40 planes on order. Air Baltic says it will use bankruptcy protection to cancel the contract for future deliveries.
HATE AT FIRST BITE
United Airlines Flight 18 from Milan/Malpensa to Newark diverted to Bangor on Tuesday, September 8, because an inebriated passenger allegedly became violent when refused more alcohol. According to an FBI report filed with the U.S. District Court for Maine, the passenger refused to return to her seat, bit a flight attendant, kicked another in the stomach and was eventually restrained by the flight crew and other passengers. She was removed by local authorities when the Boeing 777 touched down in Bangor. The woman, a Russian citizen, has also been hit with an ICE "detainer" notice so she can be tracked while in the country. The Paddle Your Own Canoe Web site posted the FBI agent's affidavit.
SHOWGIRL
American Airlines Flight 1779 from Baltimore-Washington to Miami last Friday (September 11) was disrupted by a woman who stripped naked and began acting indecently in front of other passengers. The Airbus A319 did not divert and the woman was taken into custody by local authorities when the aircraft arrived in Miami. This year has been so crazy that the incident didn't even make it into the FAA's blog of flight incidents. American Airlines would only say that the customer was "disruptive." Local police and the FBI have released no additional details.
POSTS FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
OIL, GASOLINE, DIESEL AND WHISKEY
The nationwide average price of a gallon of regular gasoline jumped to $4.31 today, according to the AAA. That's nearly 17 cents higher than last week's average and almost 28 cents more than the month-ago average. Average nationwide diesel prices are $6.16 a gallon, the highest on record. That's sure to super-charge inflation in the weeks and months ahead since much of what we buy is shipped using diesel-powered trucks. And guess what? Worse times are ahead. Brent crude, the global oil standard, closed at $104.32 yesterday, an 8.8% rise over the last five days. Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured the island of Mayun at the entrance of the Red Sea. That threatens the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an alternate transport route that avoids the contested Strait of Hormuz. About 12% of the world's goods pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Those nautical bottlenecks are enough to send you to a bottle of Canadian Club. Oh, wait, President Trump issued an executive order banning imports of Canadian whiskey. Jack Daniels, anyone?
EARTH, WIND, FIRE AND RAIN
The TV show Chuck posited that the band was once called Earth, Wind, Fire--and Rain. Which is an admittedly cheesy way to alert you that there were lots of disruptions on the road yesterday. Nearly half the flights at Atlanta/Hartsfield and San Diego were delayed, for example. It was thunderstorms and rain at Hartsfield and high winds at San Diego, always a difficult airport for takeoffs and landings. Meanwhile, the FAA keeps a blog-like tally of in-flight incidents, accidents and diversions. This year's startling run of bad luck, including in-flight fires, bird strikes and what have you, is here.
STRIKING STORIES
A reminder: Security staffers at both Rome Airports (Fiumicino and Ciampino) will strike on Sunday. That'll surely slow down passenger screening and other security-related matters. Plan accordingly. Meanwhile, pilots at EasyJet in France are due to strike Sunday and Monday. That will play havoc with schedules of the discount carrier. Avoid it if you can. Actually, avoiding EasyJet anywhere in Europe at any time tends to be a good idea.
SYDNEY STAFFING WOES
Western Sydney Airport (WSI) is due to open to commercial passenger traffic in late October. Which is intriguing since Sydney's existing airport, Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD), already is grappling with a severe shortage of air traffic controllers. And that has led to a raft of delays and cancellations this week, an extraordinary hassle if you're traveling on the already-long connections to or from North America. According to Reuters, an air traffic control shift manager described the SYD staffing situation as "a bit insane." Meanwhile, Peter Curran, the deputy chief executive officer of Airservices Australia, which handles the country's air traffic controller, on Friday was testifying before Parliament even as SYD was suffering through a controller shortage. Traffic was, of course, delayed. Of the 49 controllers employed in Sydney, 41 are needed to be available, Curran explained. Eight have been unavailable due to long-term absences, leaving little room to absorb unexpected shortages, be added. "We've had some staffing challenges in the last number of weeks since July ... and we have some moments where that can become somewhat acute. Today's an example of that," he told lawmakers.
CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD DEPARTMENT
The Brits are still tallying the damage caused by Tuesday's four-hour air traffic control outage. The latest count, according to local media reports, is more than 2,000 cancelled flights. FlightAware.com reports hundreds more dumped on Wednesday. Flight delays on both days were off the charts and the chaos was awful, especially as flyers tried to reclaim their luggage. Here's how one JoeSentMe member described Tuesday's situation at London/Heathrow: "They are just throwing the baggage on conveyers and telling people to go find it," she explained. "One worker said, 'This is unprecedented, ma’am. It’s all we can do.' " Of course, lunacy at Heathrow is never unprecedented. It's a standard feature of summer travel. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that the ATC outage was caused by a "spurious" flight plan submitted by a British military aircraft.
AND IN THE NEXT SCENE …
If you ever thought travel was an obscenity, you may be interested in this item since it seems like the plot of a bad porn movie. A couple checks into a luxury condo hotel (in this case, the Provident Doral near the Trump National Doral golf courses). They close up the room for the evening and go to sleep. Woman awakes twice during the night, believing she feels movement around the bed. Goes back to sleep. In the morning, she checks under the bed and finds a strange man hiding there. Sketch out the rest of the plot as per your own proclivities. But if you want the real, non-porn version, surf to WPLG-TV in Miami.
IN THE LAND OF THE ACRONYMS
The European Union Entry Exit System (EES) has caused major airport delays since its full rollout in the spring. The summer has been bad, but slightly mitigated by the fact the European Union bosses allowed airport officials to suspend EES at peak times. Here's the bad news: Those so-called emergency flexibility rules officially expired on Sunday, September 6, 2026. Ostensibly, the EES system must now be used at all times in all EU countries. (Switzerland also has adopted it, but two EU nations, Ireland and Cyprus, have not. That's all got to do with what countries are in the notorious Schengen Zone.) As you probably know already, the chaos surrounding the EES has led the EU to delay the implementation of ETIAS, the European Union's electronic pre-authorization system. There now seems to be virtually no chance that it will be activated this year. Stay tuned--and be prepared for more confusing acronyms.
POSTS FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
SYMPATHY FOR THE 'DEVIL'
Layne Arthur Lundeen, who has made headlines worldwide after being duct-taped to his seat on an American Airlines flight last week, has not spoken to the media. But we know the 67-year-old Tucson real estate agent has lost his job, is facing at least two charges in Maryland, where the Dallas-Newark flight diverted, and is now the global poster boy for disruptive passengers.
But here's something you may not have expected: sympathy from a JoeSentMe member who knows Lundeen. "I have known him for seven years," she volunteered by E-mail the other day. "Layne," she explained, helped her purchase her Tucson vacation home eight years ago and helped her again when she sold it last year. "He was always professional, courteous and kind," she said. "Even through difficult negotiations, he remained calm and helpful, never, ever raised his voice. … He’s also a former neighbor of ours," she added. "He was always contributing to the neighborhood. He was a helpful resource for anyone in the neighborhood and he and his wife were respected."
So what leads a respected and respectful human being to become an out-of-control passenger who could only be restrained by duct tape and zip ties? Was it alcohol? Drugs? A combination? Was it a psychotic break? Given the surge of unruly passenger behavior in recent years, these are questions that clearly need answers.
STANDARDS AND PRACTICES DEPARTMENT
Meanwhile, several JoeSentMe members E-mailed me this week with a largely similar comment: When did U.S. airlines start carrying duct tape and zip ties on board? And when did they become standard operating procedure in cases of unruly flyers? The answer to the first question is: Duct tape and zip ties began appearing around the time of the pandemic. It was a cheap, easy, off-the-shelf solution that flight attendants used and their carriers countenanced. But SOP? It's not, at least officially. No FAA or DOT rule or regulation requires airlines to carry duct tape or zip ties. Neither agency has official standards for handling flyers who cause problems. But, as one airline executive told me this week: "Tape and zip ties are inexpensive, easy to source and don't take much training." For the record, some airlines give their flight crews plastic handcuffs, which are also called flex cuffs.
AFTER THE HAWAII HURRICANE
Lihue Airport on Kauai reopened today around 5:30pm ET, after shutting down yesterday at 8:30pm ET ahead of Hurricane Lowell. The Category 3 storm hit Kauai and parts of several other Hawaiian islands overnight (local time) with heavy winds and rains. Tracking the storm was made more difficult because Kauai's radar went down. So did traffic cameras that are often used to identify trouble spots and downed power lines. Lowell has moved on and never actually made landfall in Hawaii, but damage seems severe, especially on Kauai. According to local reporting, 92% of the island has been without power today. (Or as the sole provider, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, explains, 33,000 of its 36,000 customers are without power.) Damage is extensive to roads and buildings around the islands, but the glib consensus is that "it could have been worse" had the storm actually made landfall. Late yesterday and today, Alaska and Hawaiian airlines cancelled dozens of their inter-island and mainland flights. The other U.S. carriers cancelled most of their West Coast to Hawaii operations overnight. Flight schedules are slowly returning to normal.
THERE'LL ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND (FLIGHT CRISIS)
An air traffic control outage in England today ravaged flight schedules at London/Heathrow, all the other London airports and even Birmingham (BHX), Manchester (MAN), East Midlands (EMA) and Bristol (BRS). Scottish airports are also affected. More than 1,500 flights around the United Kingdom were cancelled today while the air traffic control system, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), solved its "technical failure." Things were so bad that Heathrow waved off arrivals for the rest of the day after the system went down about 3pm local time. Ripple effects spread onto continental Europe, of course, especially for discounters Ryanair and EasyJet, but British Airways was hardly immune. BA diverted about 100 flights. Overall, a British trade group says more than 330,000 passengers were impacted by the mess. British carriers and airports expect off-kilter operations all day on Wednesday. Tales from passengers--some delayed by eight hours--were not pretty. One example: Passengers for a BA flight to Baltimore-Washington spent at least four hours on the plane at Heathrow before they were allowed to disembark and deal with chaos while trying to reclaim their bags. BA had virtually no one there to help, of course.
STRIKE WATCH
Reminder: A public-transport strike will hit the Netherlands on Wednesday. Very little will move on the ground (or in on the waters). One exception: "sprinter" rail service between Amsterdam Central Station and Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Meanwhile, a strike closed the Eiffel Tower in Paris yesterday. The reason? Visiting monks from a prominent Hindu group asked women employees be replaced by men during their visit last Saturday. The company that runs the Tower admitted Monday that their request should not have been honored. The Tower opened normally today after a torrent of criticism and the promise of an investigation by the mayor of Paris.
INDONESIA VOLCANO UPDATE
Indonesia reopened Jakarta International (CGK) and four others that had been closed over the weekend due to volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau. (Mount Anak Krakatau erupted several more times on Tuesday, the country's volcano monitoring agency said, but flights have continued.) Transport officials say that airport closures disrupted nearly 3,000 flights about 340,000 passengers.
POSTS FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
HAWAII HURRICANE UPDATE
The latest National Weather update issued at 11am ET notes that there now is a Hurricane Warning for Kauai and a Tropical Storm Watch for Oahu, Hawaii's most populous island. A Category 3 storm with winds near 115 miles per hour, Hurricane Lowell is about 375 miles from Kauai and 400 miles from Honolulu. But the storm is already lashing many of the islands with heavy rains. The worst effects of the storm are expected late this evening (local time) through Wednesday. Lowell has a potential to be a huge rainmaker: up to 16 inches on Kauai, 12 inches on the Big Island and 10 inches on Oahu and Maui. Meanwhile, United Airlines has joined Alaska/Hawaiian with a published travel waiver to/from Lihue (LIH) on Kauai. But American Airlines now has a travel waiver for four island destinations: Honolulu (HNL), Maui (OGG), Kona (KOA) on the Big Island and Lihue (LIH). No word yet from either Southwest or Delta, however.
MIAMI CARGO CRASH UPDATE
The NTSB has a "go team" on the ground at Miami, where a smoky and terrifying crash yesterday of an Amazon cargo jet killed five people and hospitalized five more. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy is leading the investigation and is expected to publicly address the situation at 4pm ET today. What we know: A Boeing 767 arriving from San Juan barreled off the airport's intersecting Runway 30 around 2pm local time and then plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses near the airport. It came to a stop near a parking lot and caught fire. The operator of the 32-year-old aircraft is 21 Air, a cargo-jet carrier that operates for Amazon, DHL and others. Miami-Dade county officials say rescue workers had to extricate at least one person trapped under a vehicle. The crash also trapped the pilot and copilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars. The cause and a clutch of questions--How far down the runway did the jet touch down? How fast was the plane going? Why didn't the pilots abort the landing and go around?--are all a matter of speculation. As always in these situations, speculation is bad and leads to bad conclusions. Assume much of what is already being bandied about by "experts" talking to the media will prove incorrect.
What we also know about the crash is its effect on passenger traffic yesterday. Miami was in a ground stop for several hours. As many as 100 arriving flights were diverted elsewhere, says Flightradar24.com. For the day, FlightAware.com reports that 193 Miami flights were cancelled and 301 were delayed.
THE MAN BEHIND THE DUCT TAPE
In Friday's URGENT!, I directed you to a CBS News story about a man duct-taped and zip-tied to his seat Thursday evening on American Airlines Flight 618. The flight from DFW to Newark was diverted to BWI and the man was removed and arrested after his meltdown, which allegedly included attacking another passenger, biting people who tried to restrain him and a torrent of misogynistic, homophobic and racial taunts. The tale made nationwide news since, let's be honest, photos and video of a man duct-tied to an airline seat gets a lot of metaphoric ink. What we've subsequently learned is the man's name (Layne Arthur Lundeen), age (67), residence (Tucson) and occupation (real estate agent). We have also learned that the agency with which Lundeen was affiliated immediately fired him. Two passengers, including one described as a former law-enforcement agent, took Lundeen down. He's already been charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault by Maryland authorities and is due in court on October 19. The FBI also is investigating. What we don't know? Anything about why an apparently "normal" guy loses it to the extent that he has to be duct-taped to his chair.
INDONESIA TRAVEL DISRUPTION
As many as eight Indonesian airports closed over the weekend after an eruption late Friday (local time) of Mount Anak Krakatau about 90 miles from Jakarta. The eruption continued for about 25 hours. The volcanic ash--which is literal murder on engines--made flying impossible. The country's meteorological agency says ash was detected up to 50,000 feet. According to the country's transport ministry, about 340,000 travelers have been stranded since Saturday. Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta (CGK), the country's main airport and, by some measures, the second-busiest in Asia, chose not to reopen today (local time) after several scheduled flight resumptions. According to CKG officials, 461 domestic and 156 international flights are disrupted today. As many as 3,000 flights across Indonesia have been cancelled.
POSTS FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
CRYING IN THE RAIN …
Yesterday was another of the worst days to fly this summer. Thanks to storms around the nation, nearly 10,900 flights were delayed nationwide and five airports (all of them hubs) operated at or below 50% on-time. One of the most troubled? Detroit/Metro, where thunderstorms held the airport to just 50% on-time operations. Today is actually worse as the storms have DTW running just 45% on-time. In fact, it's been another rotten day to fly all around North America. As of 8pm, there have been 8,200+ more delays. The unhappy tale of one JoeSentMe member: She was booked to fly Toronto/YYZ to Newark today. Her flight was cancelled, however, so Air Canada rebooked her on a YYZ-Washington/Dulles-Newark run. Unfortunately, her connecting flight at Dulles cancelled, too. The only other flying option was waiting more than eight hours for the next Newark-bound flight with seats. Instead, she grabbed an Uber and raced to Washington/Union Station for Amtrak, which is virtually sold out this weekend. She scored one of the last available seats on a 5pm Northeast Regional train to Newark/Penn Station. Her tale, unfortunately, will be a harbinger of a rough weekend ahead. Flights and trains are booked solid this Labor Day, so every cancelled flight or busted connection means travelers may wait for hours--or days--for a reaccommodation. If you are traveling, be very flexible, very patient and have a pre-prepared Plan B for getting where you're going.
SURFIN' IN A HURRICANE …
Heads up if you planned a weekend jaunt to Hawaii. The National Weather Service (NWS) is watching Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 storm that may hit the islands as early as Monday. The storm is packing maximum sustained winds nearing 150 miles per hour. As of the 8pm ET update, Lowell was 590 miles from Honolulu and 615 miles from Lihue, Kauai. "This is a serious storm," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said today. "We’re hopeful it’ll miss us." He also declared a state of emergency around the islands. There are currently no official watches or warnings in place, but the NWS will update conditions at 11pm ET. No airline has yet issued travel waivers given the packed planes over Labor Day, but that could change if the storm poses an imminent threat to the islands.
STUCK IN THIS CHAIR …
CBS News reports an American Airlines flight last night from Dallas/Fort Worth to Newark diverted to Baltimore-Washington International. The cause? A passenger whose behavior was so disruptive that he was duct-taped and zip-tied to his seat. When the plane reached BWI, the passenger was removed by law enforcement. The aircraft then continued on to Newark without incident. Details are here.
GO YOUR OWN WAY …
JetBlue Flight 1971 from Fort Lauderdale to Austin yesterday afternoon disregarded air traffic control instructions to fly into what a controller called "light precipitation." The flight deck of the Airbus A320 disagreed. "You’re gonna make us go through a severe thunderstorm?” The pilot went with his gut: He declared an emergency and flew his own way despite the controller saying there was traffic ahead. The air traffic controller acknowledged the emergency declaration. After the flight made a few maneuvers, the pilot told the air traffic controller: "You have severe weather over there at that heading you gave us previously. That’s why we declared an emergency.” Pilots are not often permitted to disregard air traffic control instructions, but declaring an "emergency" moves the power and authority to the pilot. If you want to hear the full conversation, surf here.
CONVOY …
The average nationwide price of diesel hit $5.85 a gallon today and, according to AAA, that is the highest price on record. That should make truckers really happy.
BUSTED …
London/Gatwick Airport was a nightmare for most of today due to a disabled aircraft on the runway. Gatwick actually has two runways, but it operates as a single-runway facility because the runways are too close together to operate simultaneously. While cancellations were low, around half the flights into and out of LGW ran late today.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER
You might recall that German authorities last month discovered a drone packed with explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The Germans yesterday officially blamed the Russians for the airport drone--and another found near a NATO logistics hub. It is all part of the fabric of Russia's hybrid war against the West, which has escalated since Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2023. What does President Trump think? He's shocked--shocked!--that anyone would doubt the good intentions of his buddy Vlad. "I speak to him," Trump explained today at the White House. "I know him very well. Putin is not looking to attack NATO territory." Glad we got that cleared up.
POSTS FOR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
THE INEVITABLE WEATHER WOES
With the exception of Chicago/O'Hare, which had hundreds of cancellations on Sunday and Monday, this week's travel has been (comparatively and if you squint really hard) not too bad. Then came today and more summer storms--and hordes of cancellations and delays. As of 9pm today, more than 9,700 flights nationwide have been delayed. Travel is also tough into and out of Toronto's two airports, City Centre and Pearson. It won't surprise you that the worst airport is New York/LaGuardia, where more than half the flights have been delayed. Things are also awful at Detroit/Metro, Philadelphia and the usual clutch of troubled airports in the East. Remnants of a tropical storm are scrambling schedules at Houston's two airports. Construction work and low ceilings are delaying travelers into and out of San Francisco, too.
GASOLINE AND DIESEL AND OIL, OH MY!
New hostilities between the United States and Iran are playing havoc with oil markets and consumer fuel prices. The average nationwide price of a gallon of regular gasoline jumped to $4.14 today, more than two cents higher than yesterday. Diesel prices hit $5.78 a gallon, up almost a dime since yesterday. That's also perilously close to diesel's all-time high of $5.815, registered in June of 2022. As of 9pm ET tonight, the global oil standard, Brent Crude, is selling near $96 a barrel. That's up more than 8% in the last five days, more than 15% in the last month and more than 57% year-to-date. The usual suspect: The Strait of Hormuz, the disputed waterway that is being blockaded by both the United States and Iran. According to the Hormuz Strait Monitor site, only five ships transited the Strait in the past 24 hours, which is 8.3% of the daily normal. But no worries. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will be "worthless" to the oil industry in two years. Read his … let's be generous and call it "logic" … here.
MORE STRIKES AHEAD
Add this to the list of upcoming Europe transportation strikes. Third-party security staffers at Rome's two airports--Fiumicino (FCO) and Ciampino (CIA)--plan a 24-hour strike on September 13. Passengers should expect longer lines at security checkpoints throughout the day at both airports. FCO handles the flights to and from North America, of course, but Ciampino is an important airport for intra-Europe itineraries. By the way, ground staffers have scheduled a four-hour strike for both airports on the same day. So best practices: Don't check bags and allow plenty of time for check-in or connecting itineraries.
THAT'S A LOT OF MI
Battered by surging jet fuel prices, China's three largest state-owned airlines reported large first-half losses. Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines posted combined first-half net losses of about US$1.2 billion. Fuel costs at the carriers rose between 35% and 38% in the first half. Unlike other global airlines, Chinese carriers tend not to hedge their fuel costs.
TELL US SOMETHING WE DON'T ALREADY KNOW …
Rachel Campos-Duffy, wife of DOT Secretary Sean Duffy and his co-star in the widely panned Great American Road Trip, has said the quiet part out loud. "He said he wanted to serve the president in any way," Campos-Duffy said. "He ended up in Transportation because that was all that's left." It shouldn't surprise any frequent traveler that the DOT is a Cabinet consolation prize. Most administrations throw a newbie or a political payoff in the slot. It's also used as a place to dump a member of the other party so the President can claim he's appointed a bi-partisan Cabinet. What is a surprise is that Campos-Duffy, herself a Fox host, would make such a nakedly truthful comment. But, hey, we live in peculiar times. You can read more about Campos-Duffy's commentary here.
DISGRACED CONGRESSMEN DOING DISGRACEFUL THINGS
One-time Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress and later convicted of financial crimes, is in trouble again. The prediction market Kalshi has permanently banned him for betting on his own attendance at February's State of the Union. According to TheHill.com, part of his hinky behavior had to do with stormy weather and cancelled flights. Because, of course, you can make money on cancelled flights. Meanwhile, former Rep. Eric Swalwell was met last month by FBI agents when he arrived at San Francisco Airport. FBI agents served Swalwell with a search warrant and seized his MacBook Pro and iPhone. Swalwell is being investigated for so many crimes, it's hard to know what the FBI is looking for. The New York Post has details.
SAUCE FOR THE GANDER
We told you last week that the virulently anti-immigrant clown show named Milo Yiannopoulos was arrested for overstaying his visa at New Orleans Airport. He was promptly deported over the weekend to Great Britain, his home country. The 41-year-old is now singing a different tune. He is "very ashamed" of his former politics and anti-immigrant rhetoric. Speaking to British media personality Piers Morgan, Yiannopoulos described the deportation as "humiliating and disorienting." He decried the "brutality" of America's immigration system. "It was physically degrading, it was frightening. … I don't think I've ever been frightened like that before. … And I was weeping like an old woman for an hour." The complete interview is here.
IGNORANCE IS BLISS
Apparently even federal government officials don't take State Department Travel Warnings seriously. As you surely know, the courts recently allowed the Trump Administration to repeal TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for Haitian Immigrants. ICE promptly began deporting Haitians back home. When pressed on a competing reality--the State Department has a Do Not Travel warning for the strife-torn country--Border czar Tom Homan pleaded ignorance. He admits he doesn't know much about the Caribbean nation. "I don't know the conditions in Haiti. I've never been in Haiti," Homan told CNN. More on the interview here.
WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE
Actor and Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton has been suspended from the popular game show this week after an incident aboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles in May. The allegations are unsettling, to say the least. The latest details from KTLA Channel 5 are here.
POSTS FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
HERE COMES THE NOR'EASTER
First an amazing irony: Did you hear about the Ed Sheeran shows that Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft wanted to cancel because he was unhappy with the political views of one of Sheeran's opening acts? Now the shows in Foxborough, Massachusetts, have been cancelled because of the approaching Nor'Easter. It'll apparently sock coastal New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and New England starting in the overnight hours. Winds may approach 60 miles per hour and 4-6 inches of rain are predicted. Flash flooding is also expected.
Most flights already have been cancelled Saturday at smaller airports in the region, including Martha's Vineyard (MVY), Nantucket (ACK), Barnstable (HYA), Bar Harbor (BHB) and Provincetown (PVC). At least 10% of tomorrow's flights at Boston/Logan have already been dumped, too. Since the most severe effects of the storm are expected around coastal areas, expect New York/JFK to take a big hit tomorrow.
If you can, defer your travel to/from/through New York, New Jersey and New England until at least Tuesday. It'll take a few days for airlines (and Amtrak) to reset. Besides, downed power lines, flooding and debris will make many roads impassable. Here's what the National Weather Service says.
HURRICANE NOLO NEAR HAWAII
There's a Hurricane Watch in effect for the Big Island of Hawaii and a Tropical Storm Watch has posted for Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui and Lanai. The 8pm ET report from the National Weather Service says Hurricane Nolo has maximum winds approaching 105 miles per hour. Current location: about 155 miles south of South Point on the Big Island, the southernmost part of the state. More details are here.
HURRICANE POLO NEAR MEXICO
Hurricane Polo is wavering between a Category 4 and a Category 5 storm. It dumped heavy rains on coastal parts of Mexico yesterday and is now headed toward Baja California. The worst effects there are forecast for the end of the weekend into next week. The New York Times is blogging on the storm here.
NO
KLM says passengers on the Amsterdam-Curacao flight that diverted back to Schiphol last week will not receive compensation for the ordeal. As you'll recall, there was an in-flight fire on the Boeing 777 caused when a passenger was charging a lithium-ion power pack. You know that is a global in-flight no-no. And you recall that the idiot passenger was a former president and chief executive officer of KLM. NLTimes.nl has the details.
NO-TRAINING DAY
Some public service unions in Belgium are gearing up for strikes on Friday, October 9, and Monday, October 12. That means disruptions to the country's rail services, including at Brussels/Zaventem Airport. If tradition holds, the national rail system, SNCB, will publish alternate strike schedules. One bit of good news: Effective Wednesday, the air traffic controllers serving Brussels/Charleroi Airport suspended their rolling overnight strikes.
LA VIE EN ROSE
Apparently everything is coming up financial roses for Air France. Revenue from premium travel is up 11% this year and that, together with aggressive price increases, is more than offsetting higher energy prices. "We've raised prices significantly," chief executive Ben Smith told Reuters. Yet premium class business is "quite solid. It's better than we expected."
GEE WHIZ …
Wizz Air, the Budapest-based low-fare/high-fee carrier with a strong schedule around East and Central Europe, says high fuel costs are forcing it to cut 5% of its capacity.
WAR, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
Apparently the answer to today's musical question is: War depresses energy demand, that lowers carbon emissions and that's good for the planet. The Washington Post has an explainer about how the Iran War has dragged on for so long that climate researchers note noxious emissions have decreased. Here's a free link.
POSTS FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
POLO AND NOLO AND NOR'EASTER, OH MY!
Three storms are likely to impact travel starting tomorrow and through the weekend:
Hurricane Polo is once again a Category 5 storm as it makes its way to Mexico's Pacific Coast and Baja California. According to the 7:30pm ET update from the National Weather Service (NWS), maximum sustained winds are 160 miles per hour. Polo is already lashing coastal areas with high winds and heavy rains. Its location is 145 South-Southwest of Zihuatanejo and 265 miles South-Southeast of Manzanillo. The storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of 4-6 inches across coastal portions of Guerrero state. Rainfall of 2-4 inches is possible in coastal portions of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco. Tropical Storm Nolo is churning toward Hawaii's Big Island, which was hit hard last month by Hurricane Lala. As of the 8pm ET update from the NWS, Nolo is about 305 miles south of South Point, the southernmost bit of land on the Big Island. A hurricane watch is already posted for the Big Island. The storm is expected to reach the island late Friday or Saturday. Nolo's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph and the storm is forecast to reach hurricane strength tomorrow. United Airlines is up with a travel waiver for flights to/from Kona (KOA) on the Big Island and Kahului (OGG) on Maui. Hawaiian Airlines has a travel waiver for flights to/from Hilo (ITO) on the Big Island. An Early Nor'easter is forming off-shore near the Carolinas and is expected to hit coastal areas of Mid-Atlantic and New England states this weekend. Weather pros at the NWS say they can't predict the storm's strength or path, but they warn anywhere from the Carolinas to New England can expect heavy wind and as much as six inches of rain. You do not need me to tell you that there are many hub airports along the East Coast at risk. If you expect to fly to or from the East this weekend, have a Plan B in place and watch the forecasts carefully.PLANE CRAZY
What aircraft manufacturer Embraer called a GPS "instability" problem on its E190-E2 and E195-E2 planes led to widespread groundings Tuesday afternoon. There are about 200 of the E2 variants in service with around two dozen airlines. Azul Brazilian Airlines, for example, grounded 43 of its E2s. Toronto-based Porter Airlines operates about 50 and KLM's Cityhopper unit uses at least 20. Porter only cancelled about a dozen flights Tuesday, but Azul dumped more than 120. That's about 14% of its scheduled operation. The problem, which affects the information that pilots see on navigation systems, seems solved today. The wonky system is manufactured by Honeywell and can be corrected with what is essentially a system reboot. Airlines are reluctant to do that during flights, however, which explains yesterday's grounding and cancellations.
THE BLAME GAME
Here's the final tale of the tape on the bizarre cut-cable incident at the Philadelphia TRACON that led to chaos for much of the day, especially at Philadelphia and Newark airports. At least 100 flights were diverted from Newark during the day. From 9:38am to 5:22pm ET, there were no landings at all at EWR, according to FlightRadar24.com. For the day, about 55% of Newark flights were cancelled. It was about 22% at Philadelphia. Delays along the East Coast were also severe.
As to what happened, a primary circuit went out at the Philadelphia TRACON and the secondary system did not respond. The reason? A fiber-optic cable was severed at approximately 9:45am near New Brunswick, New Jersey. The FAA initially blamed Verizon. Verizon blamed Amtrak construction work near the cable. Amtrak said it wasn't doing the work and blamed New Jersey Transit. NJT said a third-party construction crew inadvertently cut the cable. The crew pointed out that it was working about 10 feet from where utility markings said the cable supposedly was located.
YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP …
Football coach turned U.S. Senator turned Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville took to the Senate floor Tuesday and delivered a 20-minute speech against transgender people. But folded into the commentary was this claim: "Many airline pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community. Lord help us. It’s terrifying when you think about this. When you walk onto a commercial flight, it’s possible that the pilot flying your plane could have a deranged fetish of dressing up like an animal. You can't make this up." Here's the clip via X.com.
I had to look up the meaning of "furry community." I then checked every publicly available DOT and FAA record. There is no reference to anyone ever piloting a commercial aircraft wearing an animal suit. What flight deck personnel do in their private lives--and what Sen. Tuberville may know about them--is literally beyond my research reach.
POSTS FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
MEN AT WORK, LITTLE FLYING
If the FAA is to believed--and, in fairness, no reason to disbelieve them--there was a failure of a primary circuit this morning at the Philadelphia TRACON. When it tried to switch to the back-up systems, the employees learned that about 600 feet of fiber cable had been cut. That cable, which runs parallel to Amtrak rail lines in New Jersey, belongs to Verizon. "Construction contractors working in the area dug up and cut our cable," the telecom giant said. (In other words, don't blame us if you can't fly.)
The result? No data and no radio communications along much of the East Coast--and hours of ground stops, delays, cancellations and diversions from Raleigh-Durham north to Boston. Worse, the situation is ongoing and it may be tomorrow before things noticeably improve.
As of 5pm ET, about half of Newark's arrival and departure schedule has been cancelled. About 40% of Philadelphia flights are delayed and about 20% are cancelled. (A reminder: Newark's flight operations were moved to the Philadelphia TRACON in 2024). Boston/Logan and New York/LaGuardia have heavy delays, too. Teterboro (TEB), the New York Metro area's primary private-jet airport, experienced delays as long as six hours.
Also worth noting: It isn't just us peon flyers being affected today. A crucial session of the UN General Assembly begins tomorrow, so dignitaries from around the world are descending on Manhattan. And President Trump flew to New York today on Marine One, the presidential helicopter. He's in town for the General Assembly, so that means days of blocked streets and ground traffic diversions around New York City to go with the flight chaos.
DUJUAN TO KNOW ABOUT THIS?
Typhoon Dujuan is raking Japan's Pacific Coast and has been dumping copious amounts of rainfall around the country all weekend. One example: The town of Oshima on Tokyo's Ozu Islands received about 33 inches of rain in 48 hours up to 10pm Monday (local time). That's more than twice the average rainfall for the entire month of September, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Meanwhile, Tokyo's Chiba Prefecture, home to Narita Airport, absorbed nearly 16 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. You know what that means: Massive cancellations around Japan. About 500 flights today were dumped at Narita and Tokyo/Haneda airports. At New Chitose (CTS) serving Sapporo, about 40% of the flights have been delayed. This comes after an earlier storm (and an earthquake) this summer caused heavy delays and cancellations around the country.
DIDN'T THEY JUST DO THIS?
Only two weeks after a massive air traffic control failure in Britain, it has happened again. A two-hour connectivity glitch today at the national air traffic control facility in Prestwick, Scotland, played havoc with flights. Around 200 flights were cancelled and hundreds more delayed around England, Scotland and Wales. Here's how the BBC covered it.
THAT'S NOT ALL, FOLKS …
Today's global flying chaos comes after a miserable flying weekend around the United States, caused mainly by the heavy storms in the Midwest and East. There were almost 9,000 delays nationwide on Sunday after 6,300 on Saturday. Saturday was very bad for some major hubs. Sixty percent of flights at Chicago/O'Hare ran late and a third were off-schedule at Atlanta/Hartsfield. Yesterday, about 40% of flights were delayed at DFW.
THE REST OF SEPTEMBER LOOKS BAD, TOO
There will be no respite for travelers for the rest of the month, either. Next Tuesday (September 29), there'll be a nationwide series of strikes in France. Labor unions at SNCF, the national rail system, plan on joining the work stoppages. So train service will be erratic, to say the least. September 30 brings a four-hour nationwide air traffic control strike in Italy. The strike is set for 1pm to 5pm local time, so plan accordingly. And remember: There are ongoing strike actions at Barcelona/El Prat (ground workers) and Brussels/Charleroi (air traffic controllers). Meanwhile, the U.S. National Weather Service predicts a week of heavy storms that are sure to scramble air travel throughout the country.
POSTS FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
A BILLION HERE, A BILLION THERE …
We've gone eight months since the start of the Iran conflict without referencing the late Sen. Everett Dirksen's classic quote: A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money. But we're now getting a sense of exactly how much this little affair is costing. According to the Brown University Iran War Energy Cost Tracker, rising gasoline and diesel prices have cost us at least $110.5 billion since the start of the war. Totally understandable. The AAA says today's average nationwide price of a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.475, up from $2.98 on February 28, the day the war began. Meanwhile, diesel hit another all-time high of $6.486 today, up from $3.76 on February 28. There's much more pain ahead. Brent crude, the global standard, closed just north of $103 a barrel yesterday. That's up nearly 70% since the beginning of the year.
RULES FOR THEE, NOT FOR ME …
KLM Flight 735 from Amsterdam to Curacao turned back to Schiphol on Thursday after a cabin fire caused by a passenger's power bank. The Boeing 777 departed Amsterdam just after 3pm local time and was back at Schiphol around 8:45pm. The almost six-hour flight to nowhere began with a nearly two-hour departure delay, too. The power pack was being charged when it caught fire, injuring the passenger and damaging the cabin wall. As every flyer on the planet knows, you can carry power packs, but airlines and regulatory agencies expressly prohibit using or charging them in flight. So who was the dumb passenger who hurt himself, damaged an aircraft and inconvenienced hundreds of his fellow flyers? Camiel Eurlings, a businessman, politician and, oh, by the way, the former president and chief executive of KLM.
DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS …
The airlines are all-in on publicity when they launch new routes, but are … um, let's say circumspect … when they make cuts. But it's hard to avoid notice when airlines speak at an industry gathering while oil prices spike. So it was Wednesday at a Morgan Stanley financial conference. United Airlines chief financial officer Michael Leskinen told the gathering that his airline would cut flights in December and cancel more in 2027's first quarter if necessary. Southwest Airlines CFO Tom Doxey added: "If fuel is higher for longer" Southwest's "natural response" would be to cut capacity. Meanwhile, American CFO Devon May said fourth-quarter fuel prices are running about a buck a gallon higher than the carrier's July projections. (Every penny that fuel prices rise adds $10 million in quarterly costs, he said.) May said American would trim fourth-quarter capacity to offset at least some of the rising prices.
STRIKING TALES …
Icelandair says that its mechanics have called a strike starting at midnight (local time) on Wednesday, September 23. It's offering a travel waiver for passengers booked on September 23 and 24. Meanwhile, air traffic controllers who manage traffic at Charleroi (CRL), Brussels' second airport, are striking every night between 10pm and 8am local time. About 50 flights a day, mostly by Ryanair, are being dumped. Failing a settlement, the nightly strike is due to last until October 10.
DUBIOUS IN DUBAI …
Emirates Airline and Dubai airports officials lately have trumpeted their respective revivals. Western airlines are more dubious. United Airlines schedules show that its Newark-Dubai route won't return until at least late March. A restart had previously been announced for February. Meanwhile, Air France again has cancelled its Paris/CDG-Dubai flights. As of September 14, they're off until at least October 13 after restarting the service last month. Its corporate partner KLM says flights to Dubai (and Riyadh and Dammam, Saudi Arabia) are off until at least October 24. And it looks like British Airways has permanently cancelled its London/Heathrow-Abu Dhabi flights. Its LHR-Dubai route, at least for the moment, is due to resume in November.
FLYING AND VOTING AND KVETCHING …
As you may know, Israel does not generally allow absentee voting and a national election is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27. That means many Israeli citizens in the United States, Canada and elsewhere are booking flights home so they can vote. But because everything everywhere is political (and voting is, of course, politics), some oppose initiatives helping the Israeli diaspora return. The Washington Post explains it.
ARCH ENEMIES …
Many groups bitterly oppose the so-called victory arch in Washington proposed by President Trump. But of concern here is whether the massive arch would interfere with aviation at Washington/National Airport. Trump's plan envisions a 250-foot-high arch less than a mile from DCA and within the airport's busiest flight path. The FAA said yesterday that the arch would not pose a hazard to airport operations, but it does want a "nonstandard eternal flame" on top to warn pilots. The agency previously suggested traditional red obstruction lights. TheHill.com has background.
OH, THE HUMANITY …
I can only hope you weren't transiting Chicago/O'Hare on Thursday. Morning thunderstorms in Chicagoland made for a bloody travel day. There was an hours-long FAA ground stop and ORD ran about 40% on-time for the day. That's more than 1,800 flights off-schedule. Another 200 or so flights were cancelled. Think of all those bedraggled connecting flyers hoping to get somewhere or get help from United or American and sitting cheek-by-jowl at boarding gates and at airport clubs …
POSTS FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
BLUE HAWAII … AND NOT THE ELVIS KIND
You may recall (I certainly did not) that 1961's Blue Hawaii was the first of three Elvis flicks shot in what was then the new (just two years) 50th state of the union. Many tourist experts attribute at least a part of Hawaii's rise as a vacation destination to the power of those Elvis films. Blue Hawaii was mostly shot on the island of Kauai and many scenes revolve around the now defunct, but atmospheric and quirky, Coco Palms Resort. Why does this matter now? After sustaining serious damage caused by the heavy rains, high winds and surging surf caused by Hurricane Lowell, tourism officials are advising visitors to avoid Kauai. (This is no small ask: Four in ten jobs on Kauai rely on tourism.) Thousands remain without power on the picturesque, mostly rural, island. And even places that suffered no structural damage, like the Sheraton Coconut Beach Resort, closed because there's been no power. "Our hope is that visitors will adjust their travel plans [and bypass Kauai] instead of canceling their trip to Hawaii altogether," writes Hawaii Tourism Authority chief Caroline Anderson.
IF IT'S TUESDAY, THIS MUST BE EES
The never-ending crisis that is Europe's Entry Exit System has another new wrinkle. A Times of London piece yesterday says that the European Union is allowing nine countries to continue to circumvent the biometric scheme and faulty airport (and seaport and rail station) kiosks. According to The Times, these countries have the EU's blessing to scrap EES when entry and exit lines are long: France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland. The notable information here: There's been no pushback on the report from the EU, nor has it denied follow-up reporting from outlets such as The Guardian. As you know, EES became "mandatory" in April, meaning all travelers entering and exiting the Schengen Zone were supposed to use kiosks to give passport, photo and fingerprint data. But the balky kiosks caused immediate issues and the EU backed off through the summer by issuing "emergency" authorization to delay kiosk use as required. That emergency authority officially ended earlier this month, but there are still bottlenecks. Worth noting: Spain is using EES at all times, so plan accordingly. And do not assume you'll have easy or clear sailing in the nations with the new dispensation. Even when kiosk use is suspended, airports often do not have sufficient staff to handle the crowds. Here's yesterday's original report from The Times.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD … BUT LITTLE OIL
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline today is $4.328, according to the AAA. That is more than 25 cents higher than a month ago. Diesel? $6.269 a gallon, a new record, says the AAA. That's the comparatively good news. The bad news? On the consumption side, Costco has increased the price of synthetic motor oil and limited its sale. Kirkland Signature full-synthetic oil, Costco's house brand, now costs around $58 for a 5-quart two-pack, double last year's price. Costco is limiting customers to two boxes a week. Costco also says sales of Mobil 1 full-synthetic oil, now selling for about $44 for a six pack of one-quart bottles, is limited to five per member. Meanwhile, Brent Crude, the global oil standard, is selling above $108 a barrel on world markets at 12:30pm ET. That's up more than 75% year-to-date. The background you know--or should know. The Strait of Hormuz is basically closed. Iran-backed Houthi rebels around Yemen are deterring Saudi Arabia (and other countries) from using alternate routes and methods. A Gulf-country-only meeting scheduled for yesterday collapsed because the Saudis and the Iranians aren't talking. A crucial Saudi pipeline will be out of service for as long as five weeks after a Houthi drone attack last week. And, oh, yes, President Trump's promised 4-6-week "not a war" against Iran is in its seventh month.
JOE (AND OTHER FLYERS) VERSUS THE VOLCANO
Catania Airport (CTA), Italy's fifth-busiest and Sicily's primary facility, is closed again. The culprit? New ash emissions from Mount Etna. CTA shut down yesterday afternoon (local time) and isn't due to open before 10pm tonight (local time). Catania has been closed repeatedly in recent weeks as Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, continues to blow its top.
ALL STATISTICS GREAT AND SMALL
U.S. airline traffic in June fell 1.4% compared to June, 2025, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That follows a .7% year-over-year decline in May. I'm not suggesting anything other than the fact that air traffic is falling, however slightly, as prices rise and travelers dislike the overall experience. That said, BTS reported 75.5 million domestic and 12 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in June. That's pretty great, all things considered.
FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY
Emirates Airline says in a statement that it is now operating at around 93% of its pre-Iran War capacity. The airline, which has not discounted to woo travelers back to its Dubai hub, says it is adding capacity to otherwise hard-to-reach destinations such as Hanoi and Accra, Ghana. Meanwhile, citing rapidly escalating jet-fuel prices, Air Baltic of Latvia has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New York court. But Air Baltic's bad luck isn't all due to rampaging energy costs. The airline has expanded wildly in recent years to establish Riga as a hub for European travel. The airline has a fleet of 50 Airbus aircraft and another 40 planes on order. Air Baltic says it will use bankruptcy protection to cancel the contract for future deliveries.
HATE AT FIRST BITE
United Airlines Flight 18 from Milan/Malpensa to Newark diverted to Bangor on Tuesday, September 8, because an inebriated passenger allegedly became violent when refused more alcohol. According to an FBI report filed with the U.S. District Court for Maine, the passenger refused to return to her seat, bit a flight attendant, kicked another in the stomach and was eventually restrained by the flight crew and other passengers. She was removed by local authorities when the Boeing 777 touched down in Bangor. The woman, a Russian citizen, has also been hit with an ICE "detainer" notice so she can be tracked while in the country. The Paddle Your Own Canoe Web site posted the FBI agent's affidavit.
SHOWGIRL
American Airlines Flight 1779 from Baltimore-Washington to Miami last Friday (September 11) was disrupted by a woman who stripped naked and began acting indecently in front of other passengers. The Airbus A319 did not divert and the woman was taken into custody by local authorities when the aircraft arrived in Miami. This year has been so crazy that the incident didn't even make it into the FAA's blog of flight incidents. American Airlines would only say that the customer was "disruptive." Local police and the FBI have released no additional details.
POSTS FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
OIL, GASOLINE, DIESEL AND WHISKEY
The nationwide average price of a gallon of regular gasoline jumped to $4.31 today, according to the AAA. That's nearly 17 cents higher than last week's average and almost 28 cents more than the month-ago average. Average nationwide diesel prices are $6.16 a gallon, the highest on record. That's sure to super-charge inflation in the weeks and months ahead since much of what we buy is shipped using diesel-powered trucks. And guess what? Worse times are ahead. Brent crude, the global oil standard, closed at $104.32 yesterday, an 8.8% rise over the last five days. Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured the island of Mayun at the entrance of the Red Sea. That threatens the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an alternate transport route that avoids the contested Strait of Hormuz. About 12% of the world's goods pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Those nautical bottlenecks are enough to send you to a bottle of Canadian Club. Oh, wait, President Trump issued an executive order banning imports of Canadian whiskey. Jack Daniels, anyone?
EARTH, WIND, FIRE AND RAIN
The TV show Chuck posited that the band was once called Earth, Wind, Fire--and Rain. Which is an admittedly cheesy way to alert you that there were lots of disruptions on the road yesterday. Nearly half the flights at Atlanta/Hartsfield and San Diego were delayed, for example. It was thunderstorms and rain at Hartsfield and high winds at San Diego, always a difficult airport for takeoffs and landings. Meanwhile, the FAA keeps a blog-like tally of in-flight incidents, accidents and diversions. This year's startling run of bad luck, including in-flight fires, bird strikes and what have you, is here.
STRIKING STORIES
A reminder: Security staffers at both Rome Airports (Fiumicino and Ciampino) will strike on Sunday. That'll surely slow down passenger screening and other security-related matters. Plan accordingly. Meanwhile, pilots at EasyJet in France are due to strike Sunday and Monday. That will play havoc with schedules of the discount carrier. Avoid it if you can. Actually, avoiding EasyJet anywhere in Europe at any time tends to be a good idea.
SYDNEY STAFFING WOES
Western Sydney Airport (WSI) is due to open to commercial passenger traffic in late October. Which is intriguing since Sydney's existing airport, Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD), already is grappling with a severe shortage of air traffic controllers. And that has led to a raft of delays and cancellations this week, an extraordinary hassle if you're traveling on the already-long connections to or from North America. According to Reuters, an air traffic control shift manager described the SYD staffing situation as "a bit insane." Meanwhile, Peter Curran, the deputy chief executive officer of Airservices Australia, which handles the country's air traffic controller, on Friday was testifying before Parliament even as SYD was suffering through a controller shortage. Traffic was, of course, delayed. Of the 49 controllers employed in Sydney, 41 are needed to be available, Curran explained. Eight have been unavailable due to long-term absences, leaving little room to absorb unexpected shortages, be added. "We've had some staffing challenges in the last number of weeks since July ... and we have some moments where that can become somewhat acute. Today's an example of that," he told lawmakers.
CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD DEPARTMENT
The Brits are still tallying the damage caused by Tuesday's four-hour air traffic control outage. The latest count, according to local media reports, is more than 2,000 cancelled flights. FlightAware.com reports hundreds more dumped on Wednesday. Flight delays on both days were off the charts and the chaos was awful, especially as flyers tried to reclaim their luggage. Here's how one JoeSentMe member described Tuesday's situation at London/Heathrow: "They are just throwing the baggage on conveyers and telling people to go find it," she explained. "One worker said, 'This is unprecedented, ma’am. It’s all we can do.' " Of course, lunacy at Heathrow is never unprecedented. It's a standard feature of summer travel. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that the ATC outage was caused by a "spurious" flight plan submitted by a British military aircraft.
AND IN THE NEXT SCENE …
If you ever thought travel was an obscenity, you may be interested in this item since it seems like the plot of a bad porn movie. A couple checks into a luxury condo hotel (in this case, the Provident Doral near the Trump National Doral golf courses). They close up the room for the evening and go to sleep. Woman awakes twice during the night, believing she feels movement around the bed. Goes back to sleep. In the morning, she checks under the bed and finds a strange man hiding there. Sketch out the rest of the plot as per your own proclivities. But if you want the real, non-porn version, surf to WPLG-TV in Miami.
IN THE LAND OF THE ACRONYMS
The European Union Entry Exit System (EES) has caused major airport delays since its full rollout in the spring. The summer has been bad, but slightly mitigated by the fact the European Union bosses allowed airport officials to suspend EES at peak times. Here's the bad news: Those so-called emergency flexibility rules officially expired on Sunday, September 6, 2026. Ostensibly, the EES system must now be used at all times in all EU countries. (Switzerland also has adopted it, but two EU nations, Ireland and Cyprus, have not. That's all got to do with what countries are in the notorious Schengen Zone.) As you probably know already, the chaos surrounding the EES has led the EU to delay the implementation of ETIAS, the European Union's electronic pre-authorization system. There now seems to be virtually no chance that it will be activated this year. Stay tuned--and be prepared for more confusing acronyms.
POSTS FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
SYMPATHY FOR THE 'DEVIL'
Layne Arthur Lundeen, who has made headlines worldwide after being duct-taped to his seat on an American Airlines flight last week, has not spoken to the media. But we know the 67-year-old Tucson real estate agent has lost his job, is facing at least two charges in Maryland, where the Dallas-Newark flight diverted, and is now the global poster boy for disruptive passengers.
But here's something you may not have expected: sympathy from a JoeSentMe member who knows Lundeen. "I have known him for seven years," she volunteered by E-mail the other day. "Layne," she explained, helped her purchase her Tucson vacation home eight years ago and helped her again when she sold it last year. "He was always professional, courteous and kind," she said. "Even through difficult negotiations, he remained calm and helpful, never, ever raised his voice. … He’s also a former neighbor of ours," she added. "He was always contributing to the neighborhood. He was a helpful resource for anyone in the neighborhood and he and his wife were respected."
So what leads a respected and respectful human being to become an out-of-control passenger who could only be restrained by duct tape and zip ties? Was it alcohol? Drugs? A combination? Was it a psychotic break? Given the surge of unruly passenger behavior in recent years, these are questions that clearly need answers.
STANDARDS AND PRACTICES DEPARTMENT
Meanwhile, several JoeSentMe members E-mailed me this week with a largely similar comment: When did U.S. airlines start carrying duct tape and zip ties on board? And when did they become standard operating procedure in cases of unruly flyers? The answer to the first question is: Duct tape and zip ties began appearing around the time of the pandemic. It was a cheap, easy, off-the-shelf solution that flight attendants used and their carriers countenanced. But SOP? It's not, at least officially. No FAA or DOT rule or regulation requires airlines to carry duct tape or zip ties. Neither agency has official standards for handling flyers who cause problems. But, as one airline executive told me this week: "Tape and zip ties are inexpensive, easy to source and don't take much training." For the record, some airlines give their flight crews plastic handcuffs, which are also called flex cuffs.
AFTER THE HAWAII HURRICANE
Lihue Airport on Kauai reopened today around 5:30pm ET, after shutting down yesterday at 8:30pm ET ahead of Hurricane Lowell. The Category 3 storm hit Kauai and parts of several other Hawaiian islands overnight (local time) with heavy winds and rains. Tracking the storm was made more difficult because Kauai's radar went down. So did traffic cameras that are often used to identify trouble spots and downed power lines. Lowell has moved on and never actually made landfall in Hawaii, but damage seems severe, especially on Kauai. According to local reporting, 92% of the island has been without power today. (Or as the sole provider, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, explains, 33,000 of its 36,000 customers are without power.) Damage is extensive to roads and buildings around the islands, but the glib consensus is that "it could have been worse" had the storm actually made landfall. Late yesterday and today, Alaska and Hawaiian airlines cancelled dozens of their inter-island and mainland flights. The other U.S. carriers cancelled most of their West Coast to Hawaii operations overnight. Flight schedules are slowly returning to normal.
THERE'LL ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND (FLIGHT CRISIS)
An air traffic control outage in England today ravaged flight schedules at London/Heathrow, all the other London airports and even Birmingham (BHX), Manchester (MAN), East Midlands (EMA) and Bristol (BRS). Scottish airports are also affected. More than 1,500 flights around the United Kingdom were cancelled today while the air traffic control system, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), solved its "technical failure." Things were so bad that Heathrow waved off arrivals for the rest of the day after the system went down about 3pm local time. Ripple effects spread onto continental Europe, of course, especially for discounters Ryanair and EasyJet, but British Airways was hardly immune. BA diverted about 100 flights. Overall, a British trade group says more than 330,000 passengers were impacted by the mess. British carriers and airports expect off-kilter operations all day on Wednesday. Tales from passengers--some delayed by eight hours--were not pretty. One example: Passengers for a BA flight to Baltimore-Washington spent at least four hours on the plane at Heathrow before they were allowed to disembark and deal with chaos while trying to reclaim their bags. BA had virtually no one there to help, of course.
STRIKE WATCH
Reminder: A public-transport strike will hit the Netherlands on Wednesday. Very little will move on the ground (or in on the waters). One exception: "sprinter" rail service between Amsterdam Central Station and Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Meanwhile, a strike closed the Eiffel Tower in Paris yesterday. The reason? Visiting monks from a prominent Hindu group asked women employees be replaced by men during their visit last Saturday. The company that runs the Tower admitted Monday that their request should not have been honored. The Tower opened normally today after a torrent of criticism and the promise of an investigation by the mayor of Paris.
INDONESIA VOLCANO UPDATE
Indonesia reopened Jakarta International (CGK) and four others that had been closed over the weekend due to volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau. (Mount Anak Krakatau erupted several more times on Tuesday, the country's volcano monitoring agency said, but flights have continued.) Transport officials say that airport closures disrupted nearly 3,000 flights about 340,000 passengers.
POSTS FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
HAWAII HURRICANE UPDATE
The latest National Weather update issued at 11am ET notes that there now is a Hurricane Warning for Kauai and a Tropical Storm Watch for Oahu, Hawaii's most populous island. A Category 3 storm with winds near 115 miles per hour, Hurricane Lowell is about 375 miles from Kauai and 400 miles from Honolulu. But the storm is already lashing many of the islands with heavy rains. The worst effects of the storm are expected late this evening (local time) through Wednesday. Lowell has a potential to be a huge rainmaker: up to 16 inches on Kauai, 12 inches on the Big Island and 10 inches on Oahu and Maui. Meanwhile, United Airlines has joined Alaska/Hawaiian with a published travel waiver to/from Lihue (LIH) on Kauai. But American Airlines now has a travel waiver for four island destinations: Honolulu (HNL), Maui (OGG), Kona (KOA) on the Big Island and Lihue (LIH). No word yet from either Southwest or Delta, however.
MIAMI CARGO CRASH UPDATE
The NTSB has a "go team" on the ground at Miami, where a smoky and terrifying crash yesterday of an Amazon cargo jet killed five people and hospitalized five more. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy is leading the investigation and is expected to publicly address the situation at 4pm ET today. What we know: A Boeing 767 arriving from San Juan barreled off the airport's intersecting Runway 30 around 2pm local time and then plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses near the airport. It came to a stop near a parking lot and caught fire. The operator of the 32-year-old aircraft is 21 Air, a cargo-jet carrier that operates for Amazon, DHL and others. Miami-Dade county officials say rescue workers had to extricate at least one person trapped under a vehicle. The crash also trapped the pilot and copilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars. The cause and a clutch of questions--How far down the runway did the jet touch down? How fast was the plane going? Why didn't the pilots abort the landing and go around?--are all a matter of speculation. As always in these situations, speculation is bad and leads to bad conclusions. Assume much of what is already being bandied about by "experts" talking to the media will prove incorrect.
What we also know about the crash is its effect on passenger traffic yesterday. Miami was in a ground stop for several hours. As many as 100 arriving flights were diverted elsewhere, says Flightradar24.com. For the day, FlightAware.com reports that 193 Miami flights were cancelled and 301 were delayed.
THE MAN BEHIND THE DUCT TAPE
In Friday's URGENT!, I directed you to a CBS News story about a man duct-taped and zip-tied to his seat Thursday evening on American Airlines Flight 618. The flight from DFW to Newark was diverted to BWI and the man was removed and arrested after his meltdown, which allegedly included attacking another passenger, biting people who tried to restrain him and a torrent of misogynistic, homophobic and racial taunts. The tale made nationwide news since, let's be honest, photos and video of a man duct-tied to an airline seat gets a lot of metaphoric ink. What we've subsequently learned is the man's name (Layne Arthur Lundeen), age (67), residence (Tucson) and occupation (real estate agent). We have also learned that the agency with which Lundeen was affiliated immediately fired him. Two passengers, including one described as a former law-enforcement agent, took Lundeen down. He's already been charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault by Maryland authorities and is due in court on October 19. The FBI also is investigating. What we don't know? Anything about why an apparently "normal" guy loses it to the extent that he has to be duct-taped to his chair.
INDONESIA TRAVEL DISRUPTION
As many as eight Indonesian airports closed over the weekend after an eruption late Friday (local time) of Mount Anak Krakatau about 90 miles from Jakarta. The eruption continued for about 25 hours. The volcanic ash--which is literal murder on engines--made flying impossible. The country's meteorological agency says ash was detected up to 50,000 feet. According to the country's transport ministry, about 340,000 travelers have been stranded since Saturday. Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta (CGK), the country's main airport and, by some measures, the second-busiest in Asia, chose not to reopen today (local time) after several scheduled flight resumptions. According to CKG officials, 461 domestic and 156 international flights are disrupted today. As many as 3,000 flights across Indonesia have been cancelled.
POSTS FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
CRYING IN THE RAIN …
Yesterday was another of the worst days to fly this summer. Thanks to storms around the nation, nearly 10,900 flights were delayed nationwide and five airports (all of them hubs) operated at or below 50% on-time. One of the most troubled? Detroit/Metro, where thunderstorms held the airport to just 50% on-time operations. Today is actually worse as the storms have DTW running just 45% on-time. In fact, it's been another rotten day to fly all around North America. As of 8pm, there have been 8,200+ more delays. The unhappy tale of one JoeSentMe member: She was booked to fly Toronto/YYZ to Newark today. Her flight was cancelled, however, so Air Canada rebooked her on a YYZ-Washington/Dulles-Newark run. Unfortunately, her connecting flight at Dulles cancelled, too. The only other flying option was waiting more than eight hours for the next Newark-bound flight with seats. Instead, she grabbed an Uber and raced to Washington/Union Station for Amtrak, which is virtually sold out this weekend. She scored one of the last available seats on a 5pm Northeast Regional train to Newark/Penn Station. Her tale, unfortunately, will be a harbinger of a rough weekend ahead. Flights and trains are booked solid this Labor Day, so every cancelled flight or busted connection means travelers may wait for hours--or days--for a reaccommodation. If you are traveling, be very flexible, very patient and have a pre-prepared Plan B for getting where you're going.
SURFIN' IN A HURRICANE …
Heads up if you planned a weekend jaunt to Hawaii. The National Weather Service (NWS) is watching Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 storm that may hit the islands as early as Monday. The storm is packing maximum sustained winds nearing 150 miles per hour. As of the 8pm ET update, Lowell was 590 miles from Honolulu and 615 miles from Lihue, Kauai. "This is a serious storm," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said today. "We’re hopeful it’ll miss us." He also declared a state of emergency around the islands. There are currently no official watches or warnings in place, but the NWS will update conditions at 11pm ET. No airline has yet issued travel waivers given the packed planes over Labor Day, but that could change if the storm poses an imminent threat to the islands.
STUCK IN THIS CHAIR …
CBS News reports an American Airlines flight last night from Dallas/Fort Worth to Newark diverted to Baltimore-Washington International. The cause? A passenger whose behavior was so disruptive that he was duct-taped and zip-tied to his seat. When the plane reached BWI, the passenger was removed by law enforcement. The aircraft then continued on to Newark without incident. Details are here.
GO YOUR OWN WAY …
JetBlue Flight 1971 from Fort Lauderdale to Austin yesterday afternoon disregarded air traffic control instructions to fly into what a controller called "light precipitation." The flight deck of the Airbus A320 disagreed. "You’re gonna make us go through a severe thunderstorm?” The pilot went with his gut: He declared an emergency and flew his own way despite the controller saying there was traffic ahead. The air traffic controller acknowledged the emergency declaration. After the flight made a few maneuvers, the pilot told the air traffic controller: "You have severe weather over there at that heading you gave us previously. That’s why we declared an emergency.” Pilots are not often permitted to disregard air traffic control instructions, but declaring an "emergency" moves the power and authority to the pilot. If you want to hear the full conversation, surf here.
CONVOY …
The average nationwide price of diesel hit $5.85 a gallon today and, according to AAA, that is the highest price on record. That should make truckers really happy.
BUSTED …
London/Gatwick Airport was a nightmare for most of today due to a disabled aircraft on the runway. Gatwick actually has two runways, but it operates as a single-runway facility because the runways are too close together to operate simultaneously. While cancellations were low, around half the flights into and out of LGW ran late today.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER
You might recall that German authorities last month discovered a drone packed with explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The Germans yesterday officially blamed the Russians for the airport drone--and another found near a NATO logistics hub. It is all part of the fabric of Russia's hybrid war against the West, which has escalated since Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2023. What does President Trump think? He's shocked--shocked!--that anyone would doubt the good intentions of his buddy Vlad. "I speak to him," Trump explained today at the White House. "I know him very well. Putin is not looking to attack NATO territory." Glad we got that cleared up.
POSTS FOR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
THE INEVITABLE WEATHER WOES
With the exception of Chicago/O'Hare, which had hundreds of cancellations on Sunday and Monday, this week's travel has been (comparatively and if you squint really hard) not too bad. Then came today and more summer storms--and hordes of cancellations and delays. As of 9pm today, more than 9,700 flights nationwide have been delayed. Travel is also tough into and out of Toronto's two airports, City Centre and Pearson. It won't surprise you that the worst airport is New York/LaGuardia, where more than half the flights have been delayed. Things are also awful at Detroit/Metro, Philadelphia and the usual clutch of troubled airports in the East. Remnants of a tropical storm are scrambling schedules at Houston's two airports. Construction work and low ceilings are delaying travelers into and out of San Francisco, too.
GASOLINE AND DIESEL AND OIL, OH MY!
New hostilities between the United States and Iran are playing havoc with oil markets and consumer fuel prices. The average nationwide price of a gallon of regular gasoline jumped to $4.14 today, more than two cents higher than yesterday. Diesel prices hit $5.78 a gallon, up almost a dime since yesterday. That's also perilously close to diesel's all-time high of $5.815, registered in June of 2022. As of 9pm ET tonight, the global oil standard, Brent Crude, is selling near $96 a barrel. That's up more than 8% in the last five days, more than 15% in the last month and more than 57% year-to-date. The usual suspect: The Strait of Hormuz, the disputed waterway that is being blockaded by both the United States and Iran. According to the Hormuz Strait Monitor site, only five ships transited the Strait in the past 24 hours, which is 8.3% of the daily normal. But no worries. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will be "worthless" to the oil industry in two years. Read his … let's be generous and call it "logic" … here.
MORE STRIKES AHEAD
Add this to the list of upcoming Europe transportation strikes. Third-party security staffers at Rome's two airports--Fiumicino (FCO) and Ciampino (CIA)--plan a 24-hour strike on September 13. Passengers should expect longer lines at security checkpoints throughout the day at both airports. FCO handles the flights to and from North America, of course, but Ciampino is an important airport for intra-Europe itineraries. By the way, ground staffers have scheduled a four-hour strike for both airports on the same day. So best practices: Don't check bags and allow plenty of time for check-in or connecting itineraries.
THAT'S A LOT OF MI
Battered by surging jet fuel prices, China's three largest state-owned airlines reported large first-half losses. Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines posted combined first-half net losses of about US$1.2 billion. Fuel costs at the carriers rose between 35% and 38% in the first half. Unlike other global airlines, Chinese carriers tend not to hedge their fuel costs.
TELL US SOMETHING WE DON'T ALREADY KNOW …
Rachel Campos-Duffy, wife of DOT Secretary Sean Duffy and his co-star in the widely panned Great American Road Trip, has said the quiet part out loud. "He said he wanted to serve the president in any way," Campos-Duffy said. "He ended up in Transportation because that was all that's left." It shouldn't surprise any frequent traveler that the DOT is a Cabinet consolation prize. Most administrations throw a newbie or a political payoff in the slot. It's also used as a place to dump a member of the other party so the President can claim he's appointed a bi-partisan Cabinet. What is a surprise is that Campos-Duffy, herself a Fox host, would make such a nakedly truthful comment. But, hey, we live in peculiar times. You can read more about Campos-Duffy's commentary here.
DISGRACED CONGRESSMEN DOING DISGRACEFUL THINGS
One-time Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress and later convicted of financial crimes, is in trouble again. The prediction market Kalshi has permanently banned him for betting on his own attendance at February's State of the Union. According to TheHill.com, part of his hinky behavior had to do with stormy weather and cancelled flights. Because, of course, you can make money on cancelled flights. Meanwhile, former Rep. Eric Swalwell was met last month by FBI agents when he arrived at San Francisco Airport. FBI agents served Swalwell with a search warrant and seized his MacBook Pro and iPhone. Swalwell is being investigated for so many crimes, it's hard to know what the FBI is looking for. The New York Post has details.
SAUCE FOR THE GANDER
We told you last week that the virulently anti-immigrant clown show named Milo Yiannopoulos was arrested for overstaying his visa at New Orleans Airport. He was promptly deported over the weekend to Great Britain, his home country. The 41-year-old is now singing a different tune. He is "very ashamed" of his former politics and anti-immigrant rhetoric. Speaking to British media personality Piers Morgan, Yiannopoulos described the deportation as "humiliating and disorienting." He decried the "brutality" of America's immigration system. "It was physically degrading, it was frightening. … I don't think I've ever been frightened like that before. … And I was weeping like an old woman for an hour." The complete interview is here.
IGNORANCE IS BLISS
Apparently even federal government officials don't take State Department Travel Warnings seriously. As you surely know, the courts recently allowed the Trump Administration to repeal TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for Haitian Immigrants. ICE promptly began deporting Haitians back home. When pressed on a competing reality--the State Department has a Do Not Travel warning for the strife-torn country--Border czar Tom Homan pleaded ignorance. He admits he doesn't know much about the Caribbean nation. "I don't know the conditions in Haiti. I've never been in Haiti," Homan told CNN. More on the interview here.
WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE
Actor and Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton has been suspended from the popular game show this week after an incident aboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles in May. The allegations are unsettling, to say the least. The latest details from KTLA Channel 5 are here.