Tag Archives: airports

Chicago’s airports receive $56 million in federal grants

Jun 12, 2016 | WLS-AM Staff

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s two major airports are receiving more than $56 million in federal grants for improvement projects and runway construction.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the Department of Transportation grants on Friday.

O’Hare International Airport is getting $45 million for runway construction and a taxiway system. Midway International Airport’s nearly $12 million grant will be used to improve a runway and minimize debris.

In a news release, Durbin says the grants “are crucial to traveler safety.” He says the money will help reduce runway wait times, moving travelers more quickly to and from Chicago.

 

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

TSA: Come Prepared to Airport

May 19, 2016 | WLSAM Staff
By Nick Gale, WLS-AM 890
(CHICAGO) The TSA put on a demonstration today showing how security lines can quickly get backed up by unprepared passengers.
They say it’s just a coincidence that the TSA put on the demonstration after hundreds of people endured long lines and missed flights earlier this week at O’Hare and Midway.
“This is not a red hearing. In fact …we wanted to do this event for more than a month. The timing, of course, with everything else that’s going on in Chicago, is kind of thrown us into making it look like were trying to use passengers to cover it up,” said TSA spokesman Mark Howell.
And while he’s not blaming the flying public, Howell says there is some shared responsibility there when it comes to things like talking off your belt and not bringing liquids through the security line.
“We are not here today to blame this on passengers. But this is one contributing factor to the lines. In preparation to coming to the airport, just take five minutes and look through your bag,” Howell said.
U.S. Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL) says more screeners are on the way and U.S Sen Mark Kirk (D-IL) says if the understaffed situation isn’t solved by Memorial Day the TSA administrator should resign.
Homeland Security Director Jeh Johnson is set to meet with Mayor Rahm Emanuel Friday to discuss the recent TSA screening problems at O’Hare and Midway.

Durbin Asks Airlines to Suspend Baggage Fees

May 17, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

By Bill Cameron, WLS-AM 890 News

(CHICAGO) While the TSA works to hire more people to help with the long screening lines that have hampered at O’Hare and Midway Airports, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is working on a plan to help shrink lines.

Durbin says he’s arranged for Homeland Security to add 58 screeners and four more teams of bomb-sniffing dogs, but it’s going to take several weeks.

He’s also calling on the airlines to help speed up the lines by suspending baggage fees so that more passengers will check their baggage. He says the airlines can afford it.

“They’re making money and lets be honest about it, taking off on a plane that’s half empty because people are still standing, waiting to go through TSA, isn’t very profitable for an airline,” Durbin said. “It keeps their passengers unhappy and uncertain about future travel plans. So if the airlines will join us and forego a little bit of their profitability for a few months here, we can start to get this system working here.”

​So help is on the way, but it’s gonna take a while.

East Coast storm helps cancel 190 flights in Chicago

Jan 26, 2015 |

(Chicago)  What could be historically bad weather for the East Coast on Monday helped cancel about 190 flights at O’Hare and Midway airports, though very little snow is forecast for Chicago.

As of 4 p.m., flights were not experiencing any delays, but airlines had canceled more than 160 flights at O’Hare, according to the city Department of Aviation. Some flights at Midway were experiencing delays of up to 25 minutes, and about 30 flights had been canceled.

While not all of the cancellations were weather-related, some were a direct result of weather on the East Coast, according to Aviation.

The blizzard, expected for several states on the East Coast, is expected to drop anywhere from 18-24 inches of snow between Monday and Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

A few flakes might fall on the Chicago area Monday, but it will be a mere dusting by comparison, the National Weather Service office in Romeoville said. Up to an inch of snow is possible, most likely north of I-80.

Still, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation has deployed its full fleet of 280 plows to make sure arterial streets are clear ahead of the afternoon rush, the department said in a statement.

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC

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