March 15, 2010Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week delivered a stern rebuke to aviation experts and executives who criticized the Obama administration’s interest and investments in high-speed rail. March 9, 2010Greece has become a member of the Visa Waiver Program, enabling Greeks to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days with just a valid passport. March 8, 2010President Barack Obama sometime today plans to appoint retired Gen. Robert Harding, a former Army intelligence officer, to lead the Transportation Security Administration, according to reports. March 4, 2010President Obama on Thursday signed the Travel Promotion Act, establishing a public-private corporation that will administer a national marketing program to attract foreign travelers. March 1, 2010Two congressmen from upstate New York, Rep. Brian Higgins and Chris Lee, have spoken out against a proposed increase in passport fees, saying it could erect another barrier to international travel. February 26, 2010The Senate passed the Travel Promotion Act on Thursday night by a vote of 78-18, setting the stage for the development of a federally-funded, tourism-marketing campaign such as this country has never seen before. February 25, 2010The Air Transport Association has asked the Transportation Department for a 90-day extension to meet the DOT's new requirement to disclose on-time, delay and cancellation data on airline websites at the time of booking. February 25, 2010The Travel Promotion Act reached the top of the Senate’s agenda Thursday morning, but a vote is not expected until Thursday evening or Friday, because many senators are attending President Obama’s Health Care Summit. February 23, 2010The Senate on Monday broke a logjam that could pave the way for consideration of the Travel Promotion Act this week. With the help of a few Republican votes, Senate Democrats halted a filibuster on a jobs bill late Monday. After the vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the next order of business would be the Travel Promotion Act. February 2, 2010President Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 requests more funding for airport scanners and air marshals, but drops any references to new aviation user fees. January 20, 2010Erroll Southers, President Obama's nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration, has withdrawn his name from consideration. January 14, 2010A month after detailing new rules that address tarmac delays and tardy airline operations, the Transportation Department launched an improved website for passengers to file complaints, and review carriers' on-time and baggage-handling histories. January 13, 2010The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert to Haiti on Wednesday following a 7.0 earthquake near Port-Au-Prince. January 7, 2010President Obama on Thursday pledged to enhance security without making air travel too onerous. December 28, 2009President Obama interrupted his vacation Monday in Hawaii to address the botched bombing attempt aboard a Northwest jet just before landing in Detroit. Obama said he ordered enhanced screening and security measures. December 28, 2009In the wake of the failed attempt to blow up a plane last week as it was about to land in Detroit after crossing the Atlantic, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the country’s screening process to prevent such airline terror attacks had failed miserably. December 15, 2009U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow said he was hopeful that the Travel Promotion Act would become law in this calendar year, but whether that happens depends on how long the Senate keeps its single-minded focus on healthcare. December 10, 2009The Transportation Security Administration came under heavy fire this week for inadvertently posting its "sensitive security" aviation screening manual online. December 9, 2009The U.S. and Canada have canceled their travel alerts for Honduras following last weekend's election of President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, who will take office on Jan. 27. December 7, 2009By imposing tarmac-delay fines last month, the Transportation Department signaled its readiness to do what Congress and passengers' rights advocates have been wanting for years: punish airlines when they hold flyers hostage on planes for hours at a time. December 3, 2009Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced the Clear Airfares Act, which would require airlines and online distributors to give consumers a complete and coherent breakdown of all extra charges. November 30, 2009At a time when the U.S. is negotiating a new open-skies agreement with Japan and tweaking another with the European Union, IATA is calling on governments around the globe to get beyond these bilateral agreements and take a different approach to international aviation that would open new markets and knock down barriers to increased trade and foreign investment. November 23, 2009The FAA has proposed a rule requiring scheduled airlines to retrofit their existing fleet with ice-detection equipment or make sure the ice-protection system activates at the proper time. November 23, 2009Efforts in the U.S. to end the 46-year-old travel ban to Cuba got a boost last week during a hearing in Washington on whether to lift the ban. November 13, 2009The American Civil Liberties Union dropped a suit against the Transportation Security Administration after the TSA stopped using air travel screening to search for evidence of unrelated illegal activity. |