Wouldn’t it be nice to just wear your ID on your wrist as you go through the airport? Apple’s been working on it, and it’s live now in four states.

Apple users in Arizona have been carrying their driver’s licenses and state IDs in their Apple Wallets for a year now, passing through TSA checkpoints at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with just a flick of their wrists. Since then, Maryland, Colorado and Georgia have come aboard—and the tech giant is working to add the other 46 to the list.

Each state has its own verification process, but the goal is to have a digital ID stored on your iPhone. Users just click on the ‘+’ sign in the Apple Wallet’s top right corner and follow the instructions. The system works on an iPhone 8 or newer.

TSA also is testing Delta Air Lines Biometric Facial Identification and GET Mobile Drivers Licenses, its website says (https://www.tsa.gov/digital-id). The technology is available at 25 airports including Baltimore, Dallas, Denver, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, DC, and San Francisco.

While users do not have to produce their physical driver’s licenses, the TSA still requires that travelers carry them.

One more time, failed talks with labor unions are disrupting operations at Heathrow Airport.

Striking security officers at Terminal Five have caused British Airways to cancel around 5% of flights for 10 days, from March 31 to April 9 (midnight Easter Sunday), and stop selling new tickets.

For existing customers, the union says the strikes will cause disruption to flights, but Heathrow says it has contingency plans to keep passengers moving along. Still, approximately 1,400 members of Unite who are expected to take part in the walkout will be replaced by 1,000 extra staff being added by the airport.

Elsewhere in Europe, EasyJet cabin crew in Portugal have voted to strike April 1-3, and a wave of strikes by air traffic controllers continues to affect operations in France.

As of today, September 29, many airports in Florida remain closed due to the now downgraded tropical storm Ian.

The storm was a category 4 hurricane when it made landfall in the southwestern region of Florida. The center of the storm headed northeast, coming within 40 miles of Orlando.

Airports affected include Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando.

• Tampa International Airport is closed, but currently slated to open back up at 10am Friday.
• Jacksonville International Airport was closed today, and has no information on reopening as of writing this article.
• Orlando International Airport was also closed today, and the website had no specifics on when it was opening back up.

It is uncertain at this time the full damage dealt by the storm, as news is still coming out about the current flooding.

Funny how things change. “Check in” used to mean you had arrived at the airport and were ready to fly. It told the airline you had gotten to the airport on time and hadn’t got stuck in a traffic jam and missed the flight. But now you can check in online the day before your flight. The airline doesn’t know if you have made it to the airport until you have boarded. Or if you check a bag. This time I checked a bag. Later I wished I had gate-checked it.

My flight from Newark to Kansas City was my first in nearly two years. I used to fly about once a month. Since the onset of Covid layoff it’s been a long time of not setting foot in an airport. It was wild to plunge back into the madness. I forgot how mad it is.

I had planned to use Uber to get to the airport, but the app on my phone wasn’t working. It needed an update to even function. And time was fleeting. I updated the app, but then it wouldn’t take my credit card. My account showed an old expiration date, and it wouldn’t let me update the information. “You already have this card on file,” it commanded. “Try another one.” I didn’t want to use another one. But I did. You can’t argue with an app Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I flew roundtrip from Los Angeles to Oakland to see my grandson and his parents. It was my first time in the air in more than a year. Here’s a report card on how everyone did.

Southwest Airlines: Grade B-

Southwest was nearly the same as it was pre-pandemic. Fast on-time flights, courteous service by flight attendants with a sense of humor, and reasonable prices. Except for wearing masks on the flights, it was like the Delta variant of COVID-19 didn’t exist.

Because my wife and I are both fully vaxxed, but are “Infected Flier Hesitant,” we took an aisle and window seat in the front of the plane and put this sign on the middle seat between us. Read the rest of this entry »