UNVEILED: $4B Plan For New LGA

As they might say on HGTV, LGA is a complete tear-down. Therefore, according to plans unveiled today, a completely new single $4B terminal will be built in the current parking lot, after which the ramshackle four old terminals will be razed. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Vice President Joe Biden today held a joint press conference about the project, which is presently slated to begin early next year.  Lots of renderings are in the promo clip below.

RELATED: LGA is currently the 20th busiest US airport, just behind PHL and ahead of FLL. JFK, which is also in Queens, is ranked 5th with double the passenger volume of LGA. ATL remains, by far, the nation's busiest airport with nearly double the traffic of JFK.

Delta Flight Skids Off Runway At LGA

LaGuardia airport is closed at this writing after a Delta flight out of Atlanta crash-landed on the runway, skidding into a snowbank and a perimeter fence.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-88 aircraft skidded during a Thursday morning snowstorm. LaGuardia Airport was closed immediately after the incident occurred. The FAA said the airport is expected to reopen at 6:59 p.m. EST. Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo said the plane went off the runway at around 11:10 a.m. Delta issued a statement following the incident confirming the flight number, and indicating the plane exited LaGuardia's Runway 13 during its landing.

Seen At San Diego International

The above sign can be seen at San Diego International Airport across from the Virgin America gates. Photo by Mario Inchiosa.

Cuomo Proposes Rail Link To LGA

During his State Of The State address, yesterday New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed connecting LaGuardia Airport to New York City's rail system via a new AirTrain line. Adding rail service to LGA is an idea that has been pitched and abandoned several times in recent decades.

Cuomo’s plan involves a 1.5 mile long LGA AirTrain running over the Grand Central Parkway, connecting with MTA’s 7 subway line, as well as the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington branch at the Mets-Willets Point station. A typical ride from Grand Central Terminal to Willets Point is about 30 minutes via the subway, while the Long Island Rail Road currently only stops at the station during sporting events at Citi Field or Arthur Ashe Stadium. The AirTrain plan was just a small portion of a larger speech given by Governor Cuomo on Tuesday morning, with only a few details set in stone as of yet. The joint Port Authority and MTA project is initially estimated to cost $450 million, and construction could be completed within five years after all approvals are granted, according to a short statement released by the Port Authority.

Cuomo did not elaborate on a source of funding for the project. Next week the MTA is expected to authorize a subway and bus fare increase, raising the single-ride price to $2.75 and the price of a monthly pass to $116.50. Cash tolls on the Verrazano Bridge will rise to $16.00. (The Port Authority operates the bridges and tunnels to Jersey.)

RELATED: AirTrain service to JFK launched in December 2003 after five years of construction that ended up costing nearly $2B. That line, however, is much longer than the one proposed for LGA.

FAA Bans US Flights To & From Tel Aviv

Via the Washington Post:

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday afternoon ordered U.S. carriers to stop flying to or from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, prohibiting them from traveling through Israel’s largest airport after a rocket landed nearby. Airlines were banned from flying to Tel Aviv for a 24-hour period beginning on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. The FAA said it will issue additional guidance by the end of that period.  This prohibition came after a rocket landed about a mile away from the airport, the FAA said. “The FAA immediately notified U.S. carriers when the agency learned of the rocket strike and informed them that the agency was finalizing [the notice],” the agency said in a statement. “The FAA will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.” Even before the FAA’s notice was sent out, several U.S. airlines began canceling flights on Tuesday morning and afternoon.

United has suspended all service to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

Headline Of The Day

It's funny but also not so funny.

Craig Gallo, 51, crashed his boat into the runway lights of the busy hub after descending below deck with James Benenato, 60, and Mary Ann Belson, 60. A spokesman for the PA Police Department admitted that security had been breached. He said if those aboard the boat had been "terrorists with bad intentions," they could have easily succeeded. "If they had hand-held rockets, they would have had plenty of time to fire at planes." However, there were no patrols on that night because the PA Police Department has decided that evening patrols would go in a round of cost cutting measures. "The boats were purchased with federal money. They are not being deployed 24-7 — as the public would expect them to be," said Paul Nunziato of the PAPD union.

LGA's runways extend out into Long Island Sound and now everybody knows you can drive a boat right up to the edge without being hassled. But only at night!

Viral Video Of The Day

From the Las Vegas Weekly:

For most people, an overnight layover in Vegas means an excuse to party on the Strip till sunrise. Richard Dunn, however, got a little more creative. When the Georgia-based lighting designer found himself alone with a last-minute layover at McCarran Airport until 6 a.m., he forwent a night of decadence in favor of a night with his iPhone, filming a brilliantly fitting music video for Celine Dion’s 1996 cover of “All By Myself.” True to song, Dunn really did produce the five-minute spectacular all on his lonesome, utilizing the abandoned terminal’s moving walkways, escalators and some strategically placed luggage tape to create the (selfie) performance of a lifetime.

Eric Carmen's original version hit #2 in 1975.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jared)

How's The Polar Vortex Treating You?

At this writing the wind chill in Manhattan is minus 17. That's 72 degrees lower than yesterday's high of 55. Flight Aware reports that 2300 flights have been canceled so far today and thousands more are significantly delayed. Some flights are canceled because of airports that lack adequate deicing equipment. By the way - that "boiling water trick" is resulting in some burns.

You're Probably Not Flying Today

Evening View - Orlando International

Just arrived from Fort Lauderdale for the Orlando portion of my trip and these people are waiting in line to get in the line to wait in line for security. So...did anybody legalize gay marriage during my 40-minute flight?

Mass Shooting At LAX

Story developing...

She Totally Forgot

Details.

Last Night At SFO

Hillbilly National Airport

In two weeks Little Rock National Airport officially becomes Bill & Hillary Clinton National Airport in the first such re-naming for a former president and first lady.   There's already a new nickname.

“Locals are calling it the Hillbilly Airport,” one insider tells Confidenti@l. “And project managers certainly don’t want an airport named after our President called Hillbilly. In the South. How does that look to the world?” Our insider explains that when you depart the airport, you are met with huge signs that invite the public to “come meet” Bill and Hillary, who will be at the ceremony held at the airport, along with state dignitaries who will show off the facility’s $67 million overhaul, which includes redesigned check-in and baggage screening areas. There are also plans to make “Hillbilly” Airport an international airport down the line. “Hillary and I are so honored to have Little Rock National Airport named in our honor,” President Clinton said recently.

FRIDAY: Winter Storm Nemo

Forecasters are pondering airport and rail closures this weekend as the nor'easter Nemo bears down on New England. (Things sound so much more serious now that winter storms have names.) Anyway, if you've got travel plans, you might want to keep an eye on things.  This hasn't been much of a winter so far around here.

UPDATE: Gawker is mocking the conflicting forecasts with the headline: "NYC Will Get Either 3 Or 30 Inches Of Snow This Weekend."

Other Names Floated For SFO

Yesterday we learned about a proposal to rename San Francisco International for Harvey Milk.  The Bay Area Reporter notes that some folks have other ideas.

While many LGBT leaders and community members, unsurprisingly, have expressed support, others have floated the names of a variety of people as alternative choices. The suggestions include the late lesbian astronaut Sally Ride, the late gay black civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, lesbian pioneers Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, murdered transgender teenager Gwen Araujo, or the late disco star Sylvester.

Backers of any number of the city's political leaders, such as former Mayor Willie Brown, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein , would likely love to rename SFO on their behalf and could work to squash the Milk naming proposal. It also remains to be seen if the Milk idea will fly with the city's Asian community, whose voting bloc is significant and increasingly a force citywide. SFO bills itself as "the gateway to the Pacific," and the names of several Chinese leaders have already been put forward as naming choices.

Those in favor of renaming SFO on behalf of Milk acknowledge the proposal will likely encounter strong head winds against it. "I am supportive of the idea, but people need to understand this isn't necessarily a slam dunk," said Cleve Jones , who was an aide and close confidante of Milk. "Powerful forces, I suspect, will attempt to derail this."

Ladies and gentleman, we are about to begin our descent to Sylvester International Airport. Please turn off your electronics and prepare to feel mighty real.

SAN FRANCISCO: Voters May Consider Renaming Airport For Harvey Milk

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a ballot measure which would rename the airport for slain LGBT rights icon Harvey Milk.

A charter amendment sponsored by Supervisor David Campos would put the question of creating Harvey Milk-San Francisco International Airport on San Francisco’s November ballot. If five of Campos’ colleagues agree to submit the proposed name change to voters and the amendment goes through in the fall, the city would become home to the world’s first airport honoring an openly gay person, said Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk. Milk, who runs an international gay rights foundation in his uncle’s memory, said that adding an airport to the list of public venues named for Harvey Milk would mark a milestone since flights to and from San Francisco International serve 68 countries where homosexuality is illegal.

The wingnuts are gonna love this one. (Image via Harvey Milk Foundation)

Today At LaGuardia

Your flight at Gate C-34 will be somewhat delayed.  (Via JetBlue)

Loose Cabin Seats Forces American Airlines To Cancel Dozens Of Flights

American Airlines has cancelled about 100 flights while they check their aircraft for more loose seats.

Airline officials said late Thursday that they had come up with a fix for the seats, and they began pulling 48 Boeing 757s out of service to make repairs. All the planes should be back in service by Saturday. The seat repairs, however, could inconvenience thousands of passengers. American said the work caused it to cancel 50 flights on Thursday and 44 on Friday. Each 757 that American operates in the U.S. has 188 seats. Since last week, seats have come loose on three American Airlines flights involving 757s that had been recently refurbished. The seats had been removed and reinstalled as part of the work. Federal officials said they are continuing a safety investigation into the events at the nation's third-biggest airline. American originally said the problem was due to a clamp that holds rows of seats to tracks on the aircraft floor. But officials offered a new explanation Thursday, saying that a combination of wear, poor design and even soda spilled into the tracks caused pins to pop out of the grooves.

Airport Wheelchair Fakery On The Rise

The New York Times notes that as airport security waits have lengthened, the number of people pretending to need airline-supplied wheelchairs seems to have risen as travelers realize that they'll get pushed to the head of the line.

Sometimes the fraud happens in plain sight: a customer waiting in line will suddenly request a chair after seeing one whiz through security, said Evelyn Danquah, a wheelchair pusher for Delta Air Lines. The more dramatic will suddenly start walking with a limp. “When they see that the line is so long,” she said, “they just ask for a wheelchair.” Ms. Danquah said their recoveries can happen just as quickly: almost as soon as security is cleared, some stand up and walk off. At first it shocked her, she said, but she explained that now she was used to it. Dubinder Kaur, another wheelchair attendant for Delta, agreed: “They say, ‘Ma’am, I feel better — I can go by myself.'" As security checks have become increasingly stringent, the number of people exploiting the loophole seems to have risen, said Peter Greenberg, the travel editor for CBS News and the author of a dozen books on travel. He said it was common to see departure gates full of wheelchairs, especially in places like Palm Beach, where populations are older. Once the plane has taxied to the gate in Florida, however, many supposedly injured passengers exit on foot. The ends-justify-the-means approach may work, Mr. Greenberg said, but to his mind fakers pay another price. “I’m a big believer in karma,” he said. “You don’t put on a dress when the Titanic is going down so you can get in the first lifeboat.”

The above-linked story observes that the scam is helped along by the chair-pushers who rely on tips. Flight attendants who work the most faker-laden routes call them "miracle flights" because of all that mid-air healing.