The Canadian government has launched an official investigation into how a Sun Media reporter was able to walk into restricted areas of a major airport five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The probe began yesterday morning after the Sun newspaper chain published reports by reporter Fabrice de Pierrebourg on how he walked the tarmac at Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport.

Read the full story.

A woman was taken into custody after driving onto the runway of an airport here Tuesday afternoon, police said.Local police are questioning the woman, whose name was not immediately disclosed, on suspicion of trespassing. The incident forced the airport administration office to close the runway for some 30 minutes, delaying a flight from Nagoya.

At about 11:45 a.m., a car sneaked onto the grounds of Ohibiro Airport and drove back and forth across the runway before coming to a halt at one end, investigators said. Airport workers apprehended the woman driving the car and handed her over to police officers.

The car sneaked into the airport through a cargo entrance that was left open and made its way onto the runway from Japan Airlines’ cargo storage facility, airport officials said.

Transport Canada has added juice and aerosols to a growing list of banned products on departure flights in an attempt to prevent terrorist attacks following a botched bomb plot in the UK this week.

Meanwhile in the US the Transportation Security Administration said Sunday small doses of liquid medication, low-blood-sugar treatments, solid lipsticks, powdered cosmetics and baby food will now be permitted in carry-on bags taken aboard planes, a change from rules put into place last week after news of a terrorist plot involving flights between the United States and United Kingdom.

Laptop computers, electronic devices and cell phones are still allowed to be taken in carry-on luggage aboard domestic flights and flights leaving the United States.

British authorities, however, continued their ban on any carry-on luggage for flights leaving from airports in the United Kingdom. All items, including laptops, purses, even books and magazines, have to be checked, a situation that’s created chaos at Heathrow Airport where one-third of flights were cancelled due to the extra security measures.

Here are airline restrictions put in place since the discovery of an alleged terror plot aimed at airliners flying between Great Britain and the United States:

• Travelers boarding commercial flights at a U.S. airport will not be allowed to carry “any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions” onto airliners.
• Passengers on flights from Great Britain are prohibited from carrying electronics on board. There are no such restrictions on people traveling on domestic flights or from the U.S. to Great Britain.
• Beverages purchased beyond security checkpoints must be consumed before boarding — they will not be permitted aboard the aircraft.
• TSA screeners will recheck every bag at boarding gates for banned items, preventing passengers from carrying items purchased in boarding areas.
• Gate-side inspections are taking place for all passengers on flights to Great Britain. On other flights, the TSA is conducting random gate-side inspections.
• Federal security directors — the top TSA officials at airports — have discretion on how to implement the new policy. They can also use any resource available to conduct the inspections, meaning they can use their own screeners, state and local law enforcement personnel or airline personnel.

Source: CNN

US Airways has announced their plans to add new flights between Syracuse and two major cities late this summer.

The company’s announcement came yesterday as part ofthe 106 flight changes. The airline will be adding two new daily flights between Syracuse Hancock International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, and an additional daily flight between Hancock and Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

The schedule changes are set to begin on August 21st and September 6th.

According to the St. Petersburg Times on Thursday in Tampa, the Tampa International Airport chief Louis Miller announced a new 20-year plan to keep up with the growing population using the airport. The plan includes spending over $2.5 billion dollars on a number of projects including a new north terminal complex.

Miller stated that coming this summer they will be taking bids from architects to design the new terminal so it can be open as soon as 2015.

The first phase will cost up to $920 Million with a goal of adding 14 more gates and another 16 gates by 2025, making the grand total of gates to 89.

This could mean be things for The Tampa International Airport already who already sees 19 million passengers every year. It is predicted that by 2015 that number could skyrocket to 38 million passengers.

Virgin airlines’ award winning Australian discount air carrier has unveiled a new cutting edge in look for its Blue Room Lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. These stylish new lounges are known now as ‘The Lounge’. The all-inclusive lounges have been built to ‘better reflect the needs and wants of business guests and Virgin Blue’s unique airline model’.

We have evolved as an airline and recognize the need to be flexible in responding to the demands of travelers. While the Blue Room model was appropriate for the airline we were a few years ago, we are confident the new facility will be an exceptional asset for business travelers wanting to entertain clients, get some work done before their flight or relax with a premium drink or their preferred choice of coffee courtesy of the exclusive Barista service.
- Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey

You will be able obtain either annual memberships or single visit passes, thus making The Lounge accessible to all travelers. The Virgin Blue Lounges membership will cost about $349 per year, plus a one-off joining fee of $199. The bonus of being a member is that when members fly they are also able to invite a guest to join them in The Lounge at no additional charge. The single visit pass will also be available to any Virgin Blue traveler for $30 but is subject to comfortable capacity constraints. In other words if that room full you are not getting in no matter how hard you try. So next time you are traveling through Australia fly Virgin Blue and check out the new and improve Lounges, they sound very exciting.

So, next time you are traveling through Australia fly Virgin Blue and check out the new and improve Lounges. They sound very exciting.