Robot with coronavirus advice hits Times Square

NEW YORK - Worried about the spread of coronavirus? A 5-foot tall Promobot might have your answer.

The robot with a friendly face rolled into Times Square on Monday to help provide information about the new virus.

Curious passersby stopped, filled out a short questionnaire on an iPad-like touch screen attached to the robot's chest, and even had a conversation with the machine.

Promobot was created by a Philadelphia-based startup that makes autonomous service robots for businesses and is run by a group of Russians.

"We did a special software to detect coronavirus symptoms," the company's chief business development officer, Oleg Kivorkutsev, told Reuters.

"We understand how this problem is important, how people are nervous, people are afraid of this. But if they understand a few, simple things, for example, what symptoms coronavirus has, what they should do to prevent (it), everything will be fine and everyone will be happy."

The robot does not actually detect the virus. It asks if a person has common symptoms such a fever and the person has to hit "yes" or "no" on the touch screen, after which they receive a reassuring message if they chose no.

"This thing is very clever. It's really, really clever," said Tara Healy, who was visiting New York from London.

Others were not so easily impressed. "A bit mental," said Thomas McAlinden from Scotland. "But sums up New York for me."

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Hackers cripple airport currency exchanges, seek $6 million ransom

The numbers that usually glow with exchange rates on Travelex boards in airports worldwide have gone dark, after the London-based currency exchange company was forced to go offline after it discovered a ransomware attack on Dec. 31.

The disruption has also affected banks like Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, which have been unable to fulfill foreign currency orders for their customers.

Travelex said it had contained the threat and had no evidence that customer data had been removed. It has been offering only over-the-counter services since New Year’s Eve, when it discovered that it had been compromised by ransomware known as Sodinokibi, or REvil.

The hackers told the BBC on Wednesday that they had downloaded 5 gigabytes of sensitive customer data since gaining access to Travelex six months ago and intended to sell it if there was no response by Jan. 14. They have demanded $6 million for the data’s return.

Travelex, which has more than 1,200 stores, kiosks and counters in at least 70 countries, said in an online statement that it did not have a “complete picture” of what had happened to its data.

The company declined to provide details on how many customers had been affected, what data was at risk or when it expected the problem to be resolved.

“We take very seriously our responsibility to protect the privacy and security of our partner and customers’ data,” Tony D’Souza, the Travelex chief executive, said in the statement.

Travelex is still changing money, but must do the calculations by hand, based on rates issued each morning from its headquarters. At a central London branch of Travelex on Thursday, its ATMs permitted withdrawals only in pounds and the screens that usually show the exchange rates offered for each currency were blank.

The episode raised questions about how many more parts of the financial system could be at risk, said Bob Sullivan, a cybersecurity expert.

“We would not normally think of a company like Travelex as infrastructure, but clearly it is,” Sullivan said. “A big payment company that has tentacles into hundreds of institutions: It’s a reminder of how fragile these systems are.”


2020 The New York Times Company

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Stop! Don’t charge your smartphone this way

A dead or dying phone or laptop is enough to send anybody on a mad dash to find a way to charge the device, but you might want to think twice before using that random cable found at an airport charging station or docking into that hotel USB port — hackers could be waiting.

As the busy holiday season approaches, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is warning travelers about a USB charger scam, or “juice jacking.”

“A free charge could end up draining your bank account,” Luke Sisak, a deputy district attorney, said in a video posted online this month.

Juice jacking happens when unsuspecting users plug their electronic devices into USB ports or use USB cables that have been loaded with malware.

The malware then infects the devices, giving hackers a way in. They can then read and export your data, including your passwords, and even lock up the gadgets, making them unusable.

Juice jacking exploits the fact that somebody doesn’t have a full battery, said Liviu Arsene, a cybersecurity expert at BitDefender, a Romanian cybersecurity and anti-virus software company.

Arsene cautioned against using USB cables found already plugged into charging stations or even given away as promotional gifts.

“You can easily brand these things so you can make it look like any other cable,” he said, adding, “When people see it, they don’t really think or expect it to be malicious in any way.”

Other ways to protect yourself include carrying your own charging wires, only charging directly from an electrical outlet and using portable batteries that were bought from known vendors, Arsene said.

“Don’t believe everything you see, and don’t believe everything you get your hands on,” he said, noting that starting with Black Friday, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

But it isn’t just cables that pose a risk for tech consumers; it’s the ports, too.

Like scammers who steal debit card numbers by putting illegal card-reading devices, or skimmers, on ATMs, hackers can easily rip out USB ports and replace them with their own malicious hardware, said Vyas Sekar, a professor at CyLab, a security and privacy research institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

“It’s easy to modify the outlet if the attacker has physical access,” Sekar said.

Though Arsene and Sekar said they were unsure of how often hacking attacks like these happened, the growing ubiquity of USB charging ports in places like hotels, airports and public transportation has translated into an increased risk of falling victim to such scams.

“People want the convenience of charging their phones and tablets wherever they go,” Sekar said, adding, “Obviously I would like it too, but there is a risk.”

Sekar said consumers could also use attachable protective devices on USB cables known as “USB condoms.”

“What they do is a very simple trick,” he said. “They essentially disable the data pin on the USB charger.”

This means that the device will charge, but the cable will be unable to send or receive data.

“For less than 5 bucks you can buy it,” he said, “and that can actually save you.”

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office echoed cybersecurity experts in its tips for consumers, including using a power outlet and not a USB charging station, carrying your own AC and car chargers and keeping a portable charger for emergencies.

2019 The New York Times Company

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Beijing's new $63-billion mega-airport begins international flights

BEIJING -- Beijing's new $63-billion Daxing airport began its first scheduled international flights on Sunday as it ramped up operations to help relieve pressure on the city's existing Capital airport.

Shaped like a phoenix -- though to some observers it is more reminiscent of a starfish -- the airport was designed by famed Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid, and formally opened in late September ahead of the Oct. 1 celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

It boasts four runways and is expected to handle up to 72 million passengers a year by 2025, eventually reaching 100 million.

China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines will be the main domestic carriers at Daxing, though Air China will provide a small number of flights too.

An Air China flight to Bangkok was the first international flight to leave on Sunday, while British Airways will operate the first transcontinental flight, to London.

About 50 foreign airlines, including Finnair, plan to move all or part of their China operations to the airport in the coming quarters.

The relocation of all the airlines which will use Daxing is due to be completed by the winter of 2021. Air China and its Star Alliance partners will remain mostly at Capital airport.

The airport, roughly the size of 100 football fields and expected to become one of the world's busiest, has come in for some criticism due to its distance from central Beijing.

By public transport it takes over an hour to reach it from Beijing's central business district, more than double the time needed to reach Capital airport, which strains at the seams and is often hit by delays.

Officials say Daxing airport is not only designed to serve Beijing, but also the surrounding province of Hebei and next-door city of Tianjin, to boost regional development.

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Beijing hopes glitzy new airport will take off as aviation hub

BEIJING - Beijing's new futuristic airport that resembles a giant starfish -- opened days before the country celebrates the 70th anniversary of communist rule -- promises to transform the Chinese capital into a major Asian aviation hub.

Located 46 kilometers (29 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, Beijing Daxing International Airport will be able to handle 45 million passengers by 2021, with plans for 72 million by 2025 and 100 million by 2040.

It was opened by President Xi Jinping Wednesday, but had an immediate hitch when its maiden commercial flight -- an A380 superjumbo heading to the southern city of Guangzhou -- was delayed by nearly 30 minutes.

About a decade ago, Daxing was a sleepy suburb of dusty farmland and cramped quarters home to migrant workers building roads and skyscrapers in the city. 

Now -- with the airport code PKX -- Daxing is seen as an embodiment of the "Chinese dream" Xi has offered his fellow citizens.

At 700,000 square meters (173 acres) -- about the size of 100 football pitches -- the new structure will be one of the world's largest airport terminals.

So far only China United Airlines has shifted their operations to the new hub but operations manager Wang Qiang said another seven domestic and eight international airlines would arrive in the "near future." 

British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Finnair have already announced new routes to tap into its potential.

The SkyTeam alliance -- which includes Delta, Air France and Dutch airline KLM -- was also expected to move, along with local partners Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. 

The building was designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who died in 2016.

The central atrium, with curves like a rolling landscape, is supported by eight giant columns and skylights filling the terminals with natural light. 

Relatives and friends can also watch as their loved ones proceed to boarding gates through a viewing gallery.

An underground train station and metro line will allow travelers to reach Beijing city within 20 to 30 minutes. 

Have money, will travel 

The project cost 120 billion yuan ($17.5 billion), or 400 billion yuan if rail and road links are included.

At full capacity, Daxing would be the world's largest single terminal in terms of traveler capacity, according to its designers.

Dozens of self check-in counters -- where travelers only need to scan their passports -- have been set up alongside conventional airline counters to speed up operations.

Traveller Xie Hangyu said the check-in procedures were "very smooth and very convenient."

The current Beijing Capital International Airport -- the world's second-largest -- is already overflowing, handling 100 million passengers last year. 

With the opening of Daxing, Beijing joins a select group of cities, including Tokyo, London, Paris and New York, that have two long-haul international airports.

Air transport is booming in China as living standards increase along with peoples' desire to travel.

It is expected to surpass the US to become the world's biggest aviation market by the mid-2020s, according to the International Air Transport Association. 

By 2037 the country will have 1.6 billion plane journeys each year -- a billion more than in 2017, the organization estimates.

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Beijing opens glitzy airport ahead of China's 70th anniversary

BEIJING - A futuristic new airport in Beijing, which is expected to become one of the busiest in the world, was opened by President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

Xi declared the starfish-shaped airport open in brief remarks at a ceremony inside the huge terminal, days before the country holds a grand celebration to mark 70 years of Communist rule.

Located 46 kilometers (29 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, the Beijing Daxing International Airport will operate at full capacity in 2040, with eight runways and the potential to receive 100 million passengers per year.

The single-terminal airport is seen as a fitting embodiment of the "Chinese dream" Xi has offered his fellow citizens.

At 700,000 square meters (173 acres) -- about the size of 100 football pitches -- the new structure will be one of the world's largest airport terminals.

Underneath the terminal is a train station and metro line that will allow travelers to reach the city center in 20 or so minutes.

The project cost 120 billion yuan ($17.5 billion), or 400 billion if rail and road links are included.

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Thousands of travelers delayed at US airports by computer outage

WASHINGTON - Thousands of travelers at US airports faced delays on Friday because of a nationwide outage of US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) processing systems that lasted several hours.

In a tweet at 6:37 p.m. EDT (2237 GMT), CBP said "the affected systems are coming back online and travelers are being processed."

It said there was "no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at this time."

Earlier, CBP said officers were processing international travelers using alternative procedures, which caused "longer than usual wait times."

The computer issue was not impacting departures.

People at various US airports posted videos on social media sites of lengthy lines at processing checkpoints and several airports warned of extensive delays.

On an average day, CBP processes around 358,000 air passengers and crew.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the outage had not caused any changes in flights.

This is not the first time the system faced problems. The system was down for four hours on Jan. 2, 2017, as many travelers were returning from holiday trips.

A Homeland Security inspector general's office report issued in November 2017 found "inadequate CBP software capacity testing, leaving the potential for recurrence of processing errors."

The report also warned of "inadequate business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities to minimize the impact of system failures on the traveling public."

"Until such deficiencies are addressed, CBP lacks a means to minimize the possibility and impact of similar system outages in the future," it said.

CBP told the inspector general in 2017 that as "CBP moves to a cloud computing environment, improved performance and lead testing to emulate a production environment will be included in the requirements."

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Blockade, beating, pepper spray on 2nd day of Hong Kong airport chaos

Chaos gripped Hong Kong's airport for a second day Tuesday as pro-democracy protesters staged a disruptive sit-in that paralyzed hundreds of flights, saw police fire pepper spray, and a mainland journalist beaten.

Demonstrators defied warnings from the city's leader, who said they were heading down a "path of no return", and US President Donald Trump called for calm, saying his intelligence had confirmed Chinese troop movements toward the Hong Kong border.

The latest protest led to ugly scenes at one of the world's busiest airports, where small groups of hardcore demonstrators turned on two men they accused of being spies or undercover police -- and as desperate travellers pleaded in vain to be allowed onto flights.

Hong Kong's 10-week political crisis, which has seen millions of people take to the streets calling for a halt to sliding freedoms, was already the biggest challenge to Chinese rule of the semi-autonomous city since its 1997 handover from Britain.

But two days of protests at the airport have again raised the stakes for the financial hub.

Beijing is sending increasingly ominous signals that the unrest must end, with state-run media showing videos of security forces gathering across the border.

All check-ins were cancelled on Tuesday afternoon after thousands of protesters wearing their signature black T-shirts made barricades using luggage trolleys to prevent passengers from passing through security gates. 

Scuffles broke out between protesters and travelers, and vigilantism occurred when demonstrators turned on two men.

Mob justice

Police have recently disguised themselves as activists to make arrests, a move which has sent paranoia soaring among protesters.

The first man was held for about two hours before eventually being led away in an ambulance. Riot police briefly deployed pepper spray and batons to beat back protesters while they escorted the vehicle away from the departures hall. 

Another man, wearing a yellow journalist vest, was surrounded, zip-tied and then beaten by a small group who accused him of being a spy. 

In a tweet, Hu Xijun, the editor of China's state-controlled Global Times tabloid -- which has vociferously condemned the protests -- confirmed the man was a journalist working for the paper.

The man was later driven away in an ambulance after protesters and volunteer medics carried him off.

By early Wednesday, most protesters had left and the South China Morning Post reported that the Airport Authority had obtained an injunction to remove demonstrators, although it was unclear how it would be enforced.

'Into an abyss'

On Tuesday morning, the city's leader, Carrie Lam, gave an at-times emotional press conference in which she warned of dangerous consequences if escalating violence was not curbed.

Lam faced fierce questioning from local reporters and at one point appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"Take a minute to think, look at our city, our home, do you all really want to see it pushed into an abyss?" Lam said, although she again refused to make any concessions to the protesters.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.1 percent in its third straight day of losses as China's official Xinhua news agency said the economic "damage has begun to show" from weeks of protest.

The airport became a target on Monday and Tuesday after especially fierce clashes between police and protesters over the weekend in which a woman suffered a severe injury to her right eye. Protesters blamed the injury on a police bean-bag round. 

Some travelers voiced sympathy with the demonstrators.

"I understand the basics of the protest and they've got a point: it's about freedom and democracy and it's incredibly important," said Pete Knox, a 65-year-old Briton on his way to Vietnam.

Others were conflicted. 

Chun-sun Chan, 46, trying to fly home to his two children in Britain, said he felt for the protesters "but I can't quite reconcile with myself whether this is the right way of doing it".

'Mobsters'

The protests began in opposition to a bill that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, but quickly evolved into a broader battle.

Authorities in Beijing on Monday slammed violent protesters who threw petrol bombs at police officers, linking them to "terrorism".

On Tuesday, state media upped the ante, calling protesters "mobsters", warning they must never be appeased and raising the specter of mainland security forces intervening.

Videos promoted by state media showed Chinese military and armored vehicles appearing to gather in the southern city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong.

"Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!" US President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Earlier, speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Trump said he hoped no one would be killed in the protests.

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Hundreds of flights canceled in Hong Kong despite airport's restart

Hundreds of flights to and from Hong Kong were canceled Tuesday even though its airport resumed operations in the morning following anti-government protests there that prompted massive flight cancellations the previous day.

Over 400 flights have been canceled Tuesday, according to the airport website, including those to and from Japan's major airports -- Narita, Haneda and Kansai.

With the disruptions from prolonged protests threatening to impact Hong Kong's status as an international business hub and a tourist destination, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam called on the protesters to stop damaging the rule of law in the name of freedom and justice, saying that the city is being pushed to the point of no return.

"I ask you all to drop your differences, calm down and spend a minute to think. Do we want to see our home pushed towards a deep abyss and broken into pieces?" the chief executive told reporters.

"The only task before us now is to resist violence, maintain the rule of law and restore social order. Only when chaos calms down can we have sincere conversations."

Thousands of protesters, angry with the government's refusal to fully withdraw a now-suspended extradition bill and police violence during protests, swarmed the airport on Monday.

An extended sit-in taking place inside the airport's lobby forced the airport authority to suspend check-in procedures and prompted cancellations of nearly all flights from late Monday afternoon.


Some largely young protesters staged a sit-in at the airport overnight. With calls made on social media for a rally to continue at the airport on Tuesday, more than 2,000 people staged a sit-in in the afternoon blocking departure entrances, though a limited number of passengers were still allowed to get through.

Monday's airport disruptions followed a three-day, peaceful sit-in at the airport's arrivals hall from Friday to protest against the controversial bill which would allow the transfer of fugitives to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong has no extradition arrangements, including mainland China.

The Chinese government has condemned violent demonstrations in the semiautonomous territory over the weekend -- including an incident in which a petrol bomb thrown by a protester allegedly left a police officer with burn injuries -- saying the series of protests have begun showing "signs of terrorism."

"Radical protesters have resorted to using dangerous tools to attack police, which are serious violent crimes and early signs of terrorism," Yang Guang, spokesman of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday. "Stopping violence and chaos and restoring order are now Hong Kong's highest priorities."

At the airport on Tuesday, protesters said some of the travelers they encountered were understanding of their actions there.

"Obstructing the airport will cause a negative impact, but the tourists we met whose travel plans were disrupted had been understanding after we explained Hong Kong's dire situation," said high school student King Fok, 16, who was protesting at the airport for the second consecutive day. "For the future of Hong Kong, we have to try everything."

He added that he hopes Lam "can find her conscience and stop killing Hong Kong."

A South Korean tourist, who spent four days in Hong Kong and was leaving on a delayed flight on Tuesday, said he felt sympathy for the young protesters.

"I support them, their fight for freedom and democracy," Yoon Suk Geon, a 32-year-old civil servant, said.

But not everyone agrees with the protesters' tactics.

A Taiwanese teacher surnamed Nan, who was flying out Tuesday night, said that in protesting against the government, it is important not to cause problems for other people.

"When you affect travelers, you lose their support," he said.

Millions of people have taken to the streets since June in protest against the extradition bill.

Facing widespread popular opposition, Lam moved to suspend the bill's legislative process and later declared it "dead" in a bid to quell public anger. However, the protests have continued to draw large crowds.

Some of the protests have turned violent and resulted in clashes between police and protesters, with officers resorting to tear gas, rubber bullets and other projectiles, and crowds countering by throwing bricks, bamboo sticks and gasoline bombs.

So far, about 700 people have been arrested for offenses including rioting, unlawful assembly, assaulting police, possessing weapons and obstructing police duty, according to the police.

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San Francisco airport bans sale of plastic bottles

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - The San Francisco International Airport is banning the sale of single-use plastic bottles and will require fliers to buy refillable bottles if they're not already carrying their own, US media reported on Friday.

The new rule comes into effect on August 20, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, and is part of a 5-year plan to lower landfill waste, net carbon emissions and net energy use to zero.

"We're the first airport that we're aware of to implement this change," airport spokesperson Doug Yakel told the newspaper.

"We're on the leading edge for the industry, and we want to push the boundaries of sustainability initiatives," he said.

The ban will apply to all restaurants, cafes and vending machines, though not to planes using the airport. 

It exempts brands of flavored water.

Filtered water is provided for free at 100 "hydration stations," where flyers can top up glass or metal bottles.

The airport describes itself as an "industry leader" in sustainability, installing solar panels and instructing all tenants to use fully compostable food ware including straws and utensils.

Airports in Dubai and India have announced similar plastic bottle bans, but have yet to fully implement them.

The city of San Francisco banned the sale of plastic water bottles on city-owned property back in 2014, but allowed delays and granted certain exemptions. 

Global plastic production has grown rapidly, and is currently at more than 400 million tons per year. 

Single-use items represent about 70 percent of the plastic waste littering the marine environment.

Each year, a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals worldwide are injured or killed by becoming entangled in plastic or ingesting it through the food chain.

Canada and the European Union have pledged to ban single-use plastics starting 2021.

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Japan airports to introduce facial recognition for foreign visitors

TOKYO - Automatic gates using facial recognition systems will be implemented at a number of airports in Japan for short-term overseas visitors departing the country, immigration authorities said Tuesday.

The gates will come into use on July 24 at Tokyo's Haneda airport and later this year at Narita, Kansai, Fukuoka, Chubu and Chitose airports, according to the Immigration Services Agency.

Their introduction is part of efforts to deal with an expected huge inflow of foreign travelers to Japan for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The identification photo stored in the IC chip of a traveler's passport will be scanned and compared to a photograph taken at the gate, which will then open if the two images match, according to the agency.

Facial recognition gates were introduced at Haneda airport for incoming Japanese travelers in October 2017. They are now also in use for Japanese nationals at four other major airports -- Narita, Chubu, Kansai and Fukuoka.

Narita will implement the gates for outgoing foreign visitors in August, Kansai in September, Fukuoka in October, Chubu and Chitose in November, and Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture next July.

==Kyodo

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Xiamen Airlines 'fully cooperating' in Philippine probe

MANILA - Xiamen Airlines on Monday said it was fully cooperating with Filipino authorities' investigation on why one of its jets overshot the Ninoy Aquino International Airport runway and paralyzed operations there for nearly 2 days.

The Boeing 737-800 was removed from the runway Saturday after it forced the cancellation of some 200 flights.

"We are fully cooperating with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Civil Aviation Administration of China to investigate the cause of the incident," Xiamen Airlines said in a statement.

"Manila International Airport made a lot of efforts to help us settle the passengers and move the aircraft from the runway," it said.

Statement issued by Che Shanglun, Chairman of Xiamen Airlines, to the public @MIAAGovPH pic.twitter.com/wscHmPDBva — Xiamen Airlines (@XiamenAirlines) August 20, 2018

Local authorities assumed responsibility of removing the stalled aircraft instead of waiting for Xiamen Airlines representatives to speed up the process, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal said. 

Philippine aviation authorities lifted the plane using a 200-ton telescopic crane, placed it on a flatbed, then towed it to a nearby hangar. 

Airline operators still expect "consequential" delays before operations normalize within the week.

"Xiamen Airlines apologizes to all the passengers affected by the incident and will do its utmost to assist," the airline said. 

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Power restored at world's busiest airport after partial shutdown

One of the heaviest travel weeks of the year began with the cancellation of hundreds of flights on Sunday at the world's busiest airport in Atlanta, where a power outage left passengers stranded in darkened terminals or in aircraft idling on tarmacs.

The early afternoon outage paralyzed operations at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport through Sunday evening. Even though power was finally restored at close to midnight Sunday, the incident continued to wreak havoc on holiday travel plans for thousands of people hit by airline cancellations extending into Monday.

Delta said it was cancelling about 300 flights on Monday, on top of the 900 Sunday cancellations as a result of the Atlanta outage. United Air Lines also warned on social media that travel on Monday may be affected.

The incident led the Federal Aviation Administration to ground flights bound for Atlanta. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines were also among the major carriers that suspended operations at the airport on Sunday. Southwest canceled 70 departures on Sunday.

All passengers had safely disembarked from aircraft by approximately 10 p.m., or 9 hours after the outage began, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said on Twitter. On Twitter, some passengers reported sitting on planes for hours.

Reed had told reporters earlier in the evening that the airport was expected to be fully operational again by midnight.

The FAA said air traffic control remained fully staffed, with the airport open and accepting general aviation and cargo operations. It expected commercial traffic to resume on Monday.

The city was providing shelter to stranded passengers at the Georgia International Convention Center. The city said that Chick-fil-A would be providing food for passengers. By late Sunday the city said it had provided 2,000 meals.

"We’re just focusing on the comfort of our passengers," Reed told a news conference. "We know they have had a very, very long and difficult day."

Georgia Power, the utility that provides electricity to the sprawling airport, said the failure was linked to a fire in an underground facility that damaged substations serving Hartsfield. The blaze damaged access to a backup system, Reed told reporters, adding the cause remained unknown.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed passengers huddled in partial darkness inside crowded terminals.

"Stuck on a plane at Atlanta Airport as the power is out there ... bedlam inside and boredom out here!" Jack Harris wrote on Twitter.

For all carriers, nearly 700 flights scheduled to fly out of Hartsfield, or 60 percent, were canceled on Sunday as of 10:30 p.m. EST, while 477 of all scheduled inbound flights were scratched, airline tracking service FlightAware said.

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London airport evacuated after 'CS gas' incident

LONDON, United Kingdom – A suspected CS tear gas spray was found at London City Airport after passengers and staff were evacuated Friday following a "chemical incident" that left 27 travelers feeling unwell and halted flights.

London's innermost airport re-opened three hours after the incident was first reported, after 500 people were evacuated and several passengers treated for breathing difficulties.

A search of the airport "led to the discovery of what is believed to be a CS gas or spray", Scotland Yard police headquarters said in a statement.

"Whilst the cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed, officers are investigating if it was the result of an accidental discharge of this canister.

"Officers are investigating whether it may have been discarded by a passenger prior to check-in.

"There have been no arrests and enquiries continue."

Airport has now reopened. We thank passengers for their patience, access to terminal will be staggered & disruption to flights expected.

— London City Airport (@LondonCityAir) October 21, 2016

The London Ambulance Service said two casualties were taken to hospital and 25 treated at the scene for breathing difficulties.

David Morris, 28, said he was at the check-in desk for his flight to Edinburgh.

I was talking and started to cough to the point I was not able to keep talking," he said, calling the situation "quite scary"

"Within two minutes, they shouted for everyone to get out," he said, with check-in staff jumping over their desks.

"Everyone was shouting and rushing towards the door."

- Passengers left in limbo -

The London Fire Brigade was called to "reports of a chemical incident" at the airport in east London's Docklands, which caters mainly for business travelers and short-haul flights.

It said the terminal was "ventilated, searched and declared safe", adding that "no elevated readings" had been registered during the search.

Several incoming flights from destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris were diverted to other airports or cancelled.

The airport said there would be continued disruption to flights and urged passengers to contact their airlines.

Spanish businessman Fernando Bausa was hoping to travel to Madrid.

"Our flight has been cancelled, after waiting here more than three hours. Now we are trying to know what's going to happen with us, if there will be another flight tomorrow," he told AFP.

Caitlan Russell, a South African travelling to the Netherlands, said: "When I arrived, it was just people standing around, with medical blankets on, and lots of ambulances, emergency services."

German tourist Anne Kunz was flying to Luxembourg.

"The help we received was great. We received blankets, coffee and cold drinks," she said.

London City Airport is the 13th busiest airport in Britain, with a total of 4.3 million passengers last year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Drone halts traffic at Dubai airport

DUBAI - An unauthorized drone forced Dubai airport to halt air traffic for about half an hour on Wednesday in the second such incident in four months, the airport authority said.

Airspace around the world's busiest airport for international flights was closed between 8:08 and 8:35 a.m. (0408 and 0435 GMT) "due to unauthorized drone activity," Dubai Airports said on its Twitter account.

"We are working to minimize inconvenience," it added.

"Safety is our top priority and we remind all UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) operators that activities are not permitted within five kilometers (three miles) of any airport or landing area."

Those found guilty of flying drones within that limit are liable to heavy fines in the United Arab Emirates.

But since the earlier incident on June 12, which forced Dubai airport to close for 69 minutes, the UAE authorities have announced their intention to tighten the rules on the purchase and use of drones and the penalties for violating them.

Around 100 airlines fly to more than 260 destinations from Dubai, which is also home to major carrier Emirates.

More than 78 million passengers traveled through the airport last year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

For some homeless, this airport is home

MADRID - In Madrid airport's bustling fourth terminal, Edu's trolley is loaded with suitcases, but he won't be checking them in. Unlike the thousands of Christmas travellers, he is not flying anywhere.

For him the terminal is his destination -- the closest thing he has to a home.

Nearly two years ago, the 49-year-old unemployed builder wandered into the airport while trying to hike up the highway to another town.

"I came in here because I needed to sleep. And here I stayed," Edu, who would not give his surname, told AFP.

He is one of dozens who have made their home in the terminal, with its bright lights and huge glass windows overlooking the passenger planes on the runway.

Like other hubs such as London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle, the airport's warmth, security and free bathrooms, open round the clock, draw desperate down-and-outs who blend into the crowds of travellers.

Madrid Barajas Adolfo Suarez Airport -- Europe's fifth-busiest with 40 million passengers a year -- is a public space, so authorities let the homeless sleep there as long as they cause no trouble.

Police say there are at least 30 people sleeping permanently in terminal four but the number goes up in the winter. Two days before Christmas, officers said they counted 42.

Warmth and a wash

Poverty grew in Spain after a construction crash in 2008 threw millions out of work. Now the recession is officially over but the unemployment rate is still close to 24 percent.

The latest official statistics count 23,000 homeless people in the country, but charities estimate the real figure is closer to 40,000.

Having spent more than half his life in jail for a series of armed robberies, Gines Rubio, 52, landed in the street after being released two years ago, separated from his wife and two sons.

In the airport he can get up to 15 euros (18 dollars) a day by begging. Like others, he eats at a soup kitchen in the suburbs in the day and comes back to the terminal in the evening.

Like most of the airport's residents, he chose the biggest and brightest terminal, with plenty of floor space and quiet corners to curl up in.

"People come to sleep in terminal four because it is the best," said Rubio, a Madrid native with sunken features and a greying beard.

"I am less cold here. There are bathrooms where you can wash your hair."

Sleeping on the floor there without a blanket, he gets a few hours' sleep before the early crowds arrive for the morning flights to London, Paris, the United States and Latin America.

"I'd like to rob half a million euros and get out of here. But I don't resent the other people I see here leaving. They have earned it."

Blending in

A miniature community has sprung up among the terminal's residents, virtually all of them men.

Edu charges a euro a bag to keep an eye on the others' belongings. Some earn tips by pushing passengers' luggage on trolleys and helping them find the right check-in desk.

Among them is Valentin Giorgiev, a 60-year-old former school sports teacher from Bulgaria.

Long separated from his wife and two children, he came to Spain a decade ago and worked at odd jobs until four years ago when he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.

Pushing his trolley around or drinking Coca Cola in the cafes, taking his medicine and washing in the airport toilets, he blends in with the crowds of passengers who scarcely notice him until he offers to lug their bags.

At Christmas time he can earn up to 20 euros a day.

His whole body aches from sleeping on the floor. "But this is the only place where you can earn a bit of money," he said.

"You see a lot of people in the street begging, but I would never do that."

He has friends in the terminal, most of them fellow Bulgarians. But there are also unseen adversaries, he says.

"I have had lots of my clothes stolen. I feel bad," he says, wiping away tears. "I have nothing."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Qatar Airways starts Doha-Clark flight

MANILA, Philippines - Qatar Airways on Monday began daily flights from Doha to Clark International Airport in Pampanga.

Clark is Qatar's second destination in the Philippines, after Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Qatar Airways's Airbus A-330-300 aircraft, with more than 150 passengers including overseas Filipino workers from Doha, arrived at Clark airport at around 10 a.m.

"Indeed Clark is blessed, as the World’s Five Star Airline, Qatar Airways has selected Clark its second destination in the Philippines,” Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) President and CEO Victor Jose I. Luciano said.

With the daily flight from Doha, Luciano expects more tourists from the Middle East to visit the Philippines.

Qatar Airways Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations Woo Yew Seong said Clark was chosen as its second destination because of its "strategic" location and future as the Philippines' next gateway.

Woo said Qatar Airways is looking forward to increasing their operations at Clark.

Last October 1, Emirates Airlines launched their first ever non-stop daily flights via Dubai-Clark-Dubai route using their Boeing 777-ER300 aircraft.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

No major damage in Cebu airport after quake

MANILA, Philippines – No major damage was detected at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit Central Visayas on Tuesday.

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) denied reports, which spread through text messages, that the runway was badly damaged in the quake.

The agency said the runway was deemed safe after the Runway Inspection Team conducted an immediate technical inspection of the runway and taxiway integrity.

“Having been found to be safe, the runway was reopened for flight operations,” MCIAA said in a statement released Friday.

Airport authorities also assessed the structural integrity of the passenger terminal building (PTB), which was evacuated and closed for around three-and-a-half hours after the quake.

“No major damages were detected, as minor damages such as cracks were non-structural in nature. Passenger and cargo processing were returned to the PTB from separate buildings by around noon of the same day,” the MCIAA said.

The MCIAA said operations at the airport resumed at its full capacity on Wednesday, October 16, but appealed "for calm and sobriety" from passenger as aftershocks occur.

Meanwhile, the board of directors of MCIAA approved the release of P2 million to the victims of the earthquake in Cebu and Bohol out of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budget.

Transportation and Communications Secretary Jun Abaya commended MCIAA for the act, saying he hopes it “inspires others to help out as well.”

“I personally visited our kababayans in these areas over the past two days and saw the difficulties they are going through. It is good for them to be reassured that government is here to help them,” he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How Singapore's Changi is beating other SE Asian airports

SINGAPORE - Singapore's ambitious project to double its air passenger handling capacity by the mid-2020s is set to extend its lead over neighbours like Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta, whose airports are struggling with congestion and construction delays.

Changi, Southeast Asia's biggest and most popular international airport, is keen to seize a greater share of a boom in regional traffic, mindful of competitors' plans to grow into international hubs.

The increased capacity also plays into the hands of budget carriers such as Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd, Singapore Airlines Ltd affiliate Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd, Qantas Airways Ltd affiliate Jetstar Asia, which is based in Singapore, and Indonesia's Lion Air.

Low-cost carriers such as these account for a third of Changi's traffic, up from virtually zero just eight years ago, and are hungry to expand routes and flight frequencies.

The expansion plans, which include a third runway and a fifth terminal by the mid-2020s on top of a fourth already under construction, will double current capacity to around 130 million passengers annually and cement Singapore's leading role as a hub of Southeast Asian business.

Regional traffic predictions point to the need for bold construction plans as airports will have to double their passenger capacity every 12 years just to keep up, said Andrew Herdman, director-general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.

"It’s no good thinking in terms of incremental capacity enhancements of terminals or airports or runways," he said.

Driven by growing economies and rising middle-class incomes, passenger traffic in Southeast Asia is expected to rise 7.6 percent a year in the 20 years to 2031, outpacing a global average of 5 percent, according to research firm Strategic Airport Planning Ltd.

Travel between Southeast Asia and South Asia, for example, is expected to grow even faster, at 9.5 percent a year.

"Changi has big growth markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia in its region that it can serve. That can drive demand," said Shukor Yusof, aviation analyst at Standard & Poor's.

NARROW BODIES, MANY FLIGHTS

The rapid rise of Asian low cost carriers caught much of the airport industry unprepared and led to Changi's decision last year to shut a budget terminal and build a larger one, the T4.

"To continue its lead position in the fast-growing Southeast Asian market, Changi needs the space to handle more flights, particularly narrowbody flights as it is the short-haul market that is growing the fastest," CAPA, an aviation consultancy, said in a report.

The use of narrow bodied aircraft, such as Airbus EAD.PA A320s and Boeing Co BA.N 737s, means the number of individual aircraft movements grows more quickly than the actual traffic growth rate, sometimes leading to congestion problems for the region's airports.

That has not stopped the airlines from going ahead with their expansion plans. Lion Air has existing orders for more than 500 Airbus and Boeing jets, while AirAsia has around 350 A320s still left in its order book.

"As the airport grows, we will have more capacity and opportunities to grow as well so we definitely welcome the good news," said Logan Velaitham, CEO of AirAsia's Singapore unit, which has long wanted to set up a joint venture in the city.

For now, Changi does not appear to have a serious challenger to its place as Southeast Asia's leading international hub.

It has over 630,000 weekly international seats, more than Kuala Lumpur International Airport's 438,400 and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi with 274,700 according to CAPA.

For Changi's rivals, setbacks have come in spades.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport has been working on a 45 million passengers a year terminal to replace a low-cost one but has been plagued by delays, with its opening pushed back three years in a row. It is now slated to open in April 2014.

The postponements have prompted scathing comments for operator Malaysia Airports from AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes who has warned that Kuala Lumpur could be left behind by its neighbors.

But even after the extension, which will double its capacity, the airport will still lack an extensive airline network like Changi, with much of its business reliant on AirAsia.

In terms of overall traffic, Changi was outstripped last year by Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport which handled 57.8 million passengers in 2012, nearly six million more.

But its flights are largely domestic. Soekarno-Hatta was only built for 22 million passengers, resulting in frequent delays and much congestion. Work has started on an expansion, with an eventual goal of 62 million passenger capacity, but the timeframe for that is unclear.

Political infighting since 2011 has also delayed Airports of Thailand's expansion of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. The plans call for capacity to grow by 15 million to 60 million passengers a year by 2017. It also intends to expand the secondary Don Muang airport, which is used by low-cost carriers.

In the wider Asia-Pacific region, other airports are also upping the ante.

Hong Kong International Airport, which handled 56.5 million people in 2012 and is projected to handle 102 million in 2030, is proceeding with a study for a third runway and expanded terminal. Studies are also underway for the expansion of Seoul's Incheon Airport and for a second airport in Beijing, while debate about a second Sydney airport has also been reignited.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bomb threat prompts Alaska airport evacuation

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Officials say a terminal at Alaska's main airport has been evacuated over a bomb scare.

The manager of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport says the main terminal was cleared after a male passenger early Sunday made a reference to a bomb in a bag that had been checked into luggage.

John Parrott says travelers were evacuated to another airport terminal, while police and others search the luggage. So far, no explosive has turned up.

He says the man who made the comment and two male companions are being interviewed by authorities. Anchorage was the point of departure for the three, but Parrott didn't have details on their destination.

He says agents with FBI and Transportation Security Administration are taking part in the investigation.

Meanwhile, aircraft have been landing but Parrott says no passengers have been allowed to board any aircraft.

source: thenewstribune.com