Lawyers Travel's weekly client e-newsletter, the Informed Traveler, keeps readers updated on travel industry news and trends.
Following is a recap of April's top 5 (most clicked by Lawyers Travel's clients) e-newsletter stories.
1. TSA AND CLEAR TO INITIATE SINGLE APPLICATION PROCESS
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is planning to incorporate CLEAR as an enrollment provider for TSA PreCheck applicants, thus launching a single, combined application process, reports Travel Pulse. "CLEAR has been on a mission to make experiences safer and easier since day one, so we’re looking forward to becoming an authorized TSA PreCheck enrollment provider to help bring TSA PreCheck enrollment to more people in more places," a CLEAR spokesperson said. The merger of the application process is a result of requirements outlined in the TSA Modernization Act and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, and could potentially increase TSA PreCheck adoption among travelers. No further details have been released at this time, and representatives for both programs declined to discuss whether the pricing of the programs would be impacted by the application process changes.
2. FBI WARNS TRAVELERS ABOUT JUICE-JACKING HACKING SCHEME AT AIRPORTS AND HOTELS
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning to travelers about “juice jacking,” a scheme used to steal information from phones while they charge at public stations at airports and in hotels, reports Travel Pulse. The FBI said travelers should avoid using free charging stations in “airports, hotels, or shopping centers” due to concerns that hackers would use the public USB ports to “introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices.” To offset the possible issues associated with the charger scam, travelers are advised to bring a portable charger or external battery, carry a charging-only cable, and avoid plugging devices into public wires. Last year, research conducted by cybersecurity company NordVPN revealed that one in four travelers have been hacked while using public Wi-Fi on their travels abroad. Most of those attacks occurred while travelers were in transit at airports, bus stations, or train stations.
3. THOUSANDS OF SOUTHWEST FLIGHTS AFFECTED BY TECHNICAL ISSUE
A technology failure caused a one-hour nationwide stoppage of Southwest's flights on Tuesday, just months after a software problem stranded thousands of travelers over the winter holiday, reports Reuters. Southwest flights resumed Tuesday afternoon after a vendor-supplied computer network firewall went down in the morning and connection to some operational data was "unexpectedly" lost. Still, the carrier saw nearly 47 percent of its flights delayed in the aftermath of the issue. "This is another demonstration that Southwest Airlines needs to upgrade their systems and stop the negative impacts to individual travelers,” said Senator Maria Cantwell in a statement. The carrier has been scrutinized ever since a staffing crisis due to bad weather during the Christmas holidays overwhelmed its crew scheduling software, disrupting travel plans for 2 million travelers. As a result of the software issue, Southwest executives committed to upgrading the company's systems and enhancing their internal processes to manage unexpected operational issues. The airline also slashed executive compensation in response to the winter operational failures.
4. FEBRUARY GLOBAL DOMESTIC AIR TRAFFIC NEAR 2019 LEVELS
February global domestic traffic increased 25.2 percent year over year and was at 97.2 percent of February 2019 levels, while international traffic was up 89.7 percent for the month and reached 77.5 percent of 2019 levels, reports Business Travel News. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), total February global air traffic increased 55.5 percent versus February 2022 and now is at 84.9 percent of February 2019 levels, a slight increase from January's 84.2 percent. "Despite the uncertain economic signals, demand for air travel continues to be strong across the global and particularly in the Asia-Pacific region," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement. "The industry is now just about 15 percent below 2019 levels of demand, and that gap is narrowing each month." Additionally, North American total demand increased 25.1 percent, with the US being the only domestic market to show demand above February 2019 levels, by 0.7 percent.
5. JFK AIRPORT RENOVATION PROJECT UNDERWAY; TRAVLERS ADVISED TO PLAN AHEAD
Renovations at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will affect the ways in which travelers navigate to and from the airport, reports NY PIX11. The $19 billion improvement project — which includes demolishing, renovating, and rebuilding Terminals 1, 4, 6, and 8 — is expected to impact the Air Train, a taxi pickup stand, and more. Pickup spots are changing for the major terminals, including for taxis and ride share drivers. As of April 26, the taxi pickup stand at JetBlue's terminal 5 will no longer exist. Travelers will need to walk to a secondary location. And beginning Monday, May 1, the Air Train won't stop at Terminal 1; it will be replaced by buses to supplement its connections. Those re-routes are expected to last for several months. “We are asking people to take note of the construction challenges to recognize there will be temporary changes and we are going to be doing the best we can to minimize those disruptions," said Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority. "In the end, it will be worth it," he added. As part of the construction of the new Terminals 1 and 6, the Port Authority will close multiple airport roadways, which will primarily affect those headed to Terminals 1 and 5. Traffic engineers will monitor congestion in real-time in order to mitigate traffic jams during construction. Officials highly recommend that travelers use mass transit to get to JFK and to arrive extra early at the airport.
