Category: Transport Watch

WNBA star Brittney Griner, recently freed from detainment in Russia, was harassed by a man described as a social media “provocateur” at a Dallas airport. Griner was at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport traveling with teammates on their way to a game. Griner was yelled at by the man who was remarking about “the Merchant of Death.” The confrontation got heated eventually leading to the man being tackled and law enforcement becoming involved. Griner subsequently called for more security for players and an announcement was eventually made that she would be traveling on private jets for the remainder of the season.

Leaked documents show that U.S. intelligence agencies were aware of up to four additional Chinese spy balloons different to the one that was ultimately shot down off the coast of the U.S. in February. The capabilities of the one that flew over the continental United States during January and February, have been questioned. The balloon carried sensors and antennas according to a document allegedly leaked to a Discord chatroom by Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Other balloons flew over a U.S. carrier strike group in a previously unreported incident, and one crashed in the South China Sea, a second top-secret document stated. The balloon that flew over the continental U.S. in January and February had sophisticated reconnaissance equipment including synthetic aperture radar. Spy plane photographs of the balloon showed a parabolic dish, sensors and solar panels capable of producing “humongous,” amounts of power. It was about 100 times the amount generated by balloons such as Google’s Loon, which provides internet service, and nearly twice that generated by some orbital SAR satellites, according to a specialist in remote sensing, Paul Byrne, who is an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis, in a Washington Post report.

Southwest Airlines requested the FAA order a nationwide ground stop of all of the carrier’s flights on 18 April. The FAA lifted the ground stop at every airport except for Love Field in Dallas, Texas, after a few hours. The order wreaked havoc on Southwest’s scheduling, causing around 2,500 Southwest flights, 30 percent of the carrier’s schedule to be delayed, according to data from FlightAware. “Southwest has resumed operations after temporarily pausing flight activity this morning to work through data connection issues. We offer our heartfelt apologies to customers whose journey with us today might be delayed,” a statement release by the airline said.

A passenger upset over a baby’s extended period of crying let out an outburst of his own on a Southwest Airlines flight. The man threw a fit that forced police to meet the plane when it landed. After the baby had been crying for an extended period of time, the man demanded flight attendants do something about it and began yelling. A video posted to social media shot by a passenger on the plane, shows the flight attendant telling the adult male passenger, “Sir, you are yelling,” and saying, “It’s a baby,’ in response to the man demanding that the baby be made to be quiet. The flight was diverted to Orlando, Florida, but was originally set to go to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The man was met at the gate by airport police.

Kenny Wells, the person who caused chaos at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Intl. Airport in November of 2021, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on May 10. Wells was trying to catch a flight but had brought a gun to the airport. A screener searched his bag and video showed Wells reaching into the bag. At that moment, the gun accidentally went off. Wells said he panicked and made a run for it, leaving behind his boarding pass. Wells dumped the stolen gun in a garbage can off airport property. Wells pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Police in Uruguay discovered a drug ring that smuggled cocaine from South America to Europe hidden inside surfboards. Counter-narcotics police in Spain, Portugal and Italy, assisted and three Italian citizens were arrested. Officers were alerted to six surfboards by sniffer dogs in Uruguay. The boards were broken open and found to hold 50 kg (110 lb) of cocaine. One board was allowed by the police to continue to its intended destination to track down those receiving it. Officers said the boards were unusually heavy. When they passed through a scanner, the packages could be seen inside. A photo, shown here, which was released by Uruguay’s interior ministry, shows the cocaine from one of the boards after it had been cut open. Police said they believe the Italian smugglers entered Uruguay across the land border with Brazil.

Francisco De Jesus said he was flying with his 13-year-old daughter from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina and while using the plane’s restroom, flight attendants gave his daughter wings, asked if she was OK, where she was going, and who she was going to meet. When the flight landed in Charlotte, De Jesus said that personnel, including the airport’s head of security, met them after they deplaned. “As we’re deplaning, we’re greeted by several individuals. One of them who introduced himself as the head of security for the Charlotte International Airport,” said De Jesus in a news report. De Jesus and his daughter were led through the terminal and law enforcement eventually explained to him that flight attendants alerted them to signs of human trafficking.