Vol. 38 No. 2 Serving New York Airports February 2016 CUSTOMS AND BOARDER DOGS ARE KEY PLAYERS IN PROTECTION INSTALL FACIAL AVIATION SAFETY Thanks to their keen ability to sniff out TECHNOLOGY AT JFK AIRPORT trouble, dogs are in high-demand among Selected travelers arriving at John F. law enforcement agencies charged with Kennedy International Airport on Jan. 19 keeping the public safe — especially in ma- were scanned by Customs and Border Pro- jor transportation hubs. tection’s new facial comparison technology The Transportation Security Adminis- to help match individuals to their passports. tration gave a demonstration last month of The initial deployment of the facial com- what their problem-solving pooches can do. parison system will apply to fi rst-time Visa Willie, a black lab wearing a “Do Not Waiver Program travelers and returning Pet” sign, ran through a mock scenario at U.S. citizens with ePassports, according to LaGuardia for reporters. a CBP statement on Jan. 19. The sharp-eyed dog gave an unobtrusive Along with the JFK deployment, CBP sniff to every passenger disembarking from said it is also conducting additional tests a Delta fl ight — before focusing on a wom- “We work here at La Guardia. He’s a de- to evaluate new biometric technologies in an in a puff y black coat. Tugging along his tective dog. He’s here to detect,” said Mi- multiple environments in fi scal 2016. handler, Willie ran after her until he arrived chelle Ramos, 42, Willie’s TSA K-9 agent. The program, which allows visa-free at her side. His handler, Michelle Ramos, “He’s looking for traces of explosives.” travel for citizens of certain U.S. allies, has tossed him a favorite toy to play with as a Dogs like 7-year-old Willie are trained come under fi re for gaps that could poten- reward. See DOGS page 2 See FACIAL page 2 OWNERS WANT TO TARMAC RULE FIASCO GETTING RETIRE! “UNRAVE” REVIEWS Editor comment: The June 2009 issue of Airport Press predicted that the “Tarmac Rule” would” eventually hurt travellers and should be amended. Now, the chickens have fi nally come home to roost. Federal rules that prohibit airlines from keeping passengers trapped on airplanes that do not take off for longer than three hours are leading to more fl ight cancellations by U.S. airlines, according to a new study. See TARMAC page 2 ARE YOU INTERESTED? inside OPPORTUNITY TO RUN THE OFFICE AND REPRESENT . Airportp Press Airport News............................2 Comic...................................16 Airline News...........................12 Hijinx....................................17 AT AIRPORT FUNCTIONS OR Aviation News.........................8 Names in the News..................15 OWN THE PAPER AND BE YOUR OWN BOSS Cargo News..............................4 Focus.....................................19 AND EARN BASED ON YOUR OWN HARD WORK Classified..............................18 Security..................................17 February 2016 • Vol. 38 No. 2 SEND EMAIL TO [email protected] airportpress.us TO EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST 2 • February 2016 • Airport Press Metro Edition Airport News parison technology comes after CBP tested days for tourism or business purposes with- Program traveler to their e-Passport before From Page 1 FACIAL it last year at Washington Dulles Internation- out getting a visa. The privacy assessment enrolling that individual into DHS data sys- al Airport in Virginia. The results of Dulles said such visits account for about two-thirds tems, the assessment said. The facial com- tially allow unwanted or dangerous people testing, CBP said, showed the system was of all business and leisure travel to the U.S. parison project gives more uniform levels into the U.S. Lawmakers have called for bio- adept at matching passports photos with live The U.S. currently uses fi ngerprints to bio- of confi dence in identities among fi rst-time metric identifi cation capabilities to be added captured images. metrically enroll and verify travelers’ iden- visitor, returning visitors and travelers using to the program to help verify identities of Currently, the Visa Waiver Program al- tity in the program. a U.S. visa, since there were some inconsis- program participants. lows eligible citizens from 38 designated The Facial Comparison Project allows tencies in how CBP collected the informa- The JFK deployment of the facial com- countries to travel to the U.S. and stay for 90 CBP to biometrically match a Visa Waiver tion among those groups. DOGS From Page 1 was in eff ect with that before, we fi nd that nience that is experienced by airline passen- the Rule has been highly eff ective in reduc- gers. “Through extensive scenario analyses, ing the frequency of occurrence of long tar- we conclude that a better balance between for 12 weeks — starting when they’re still mac times,” the authors of the study wrote in the confl icting objectives of reducing the pups — and then paired up with TSA-K9 an abstract of their research. frequency of long tarmac times and reduc- agents, Ramos said. Passengers will see an “However, another signifi cant eff ect of ing total passenger delays can be achieved increase in K-9’s patrolling for suspicious the rule has been the rise in fl ight cancel- through a modifi ed version of the existing characters and devices in the near future, lation rates,” the abstract continued. “Can- rule.” said Lisa Farbstein, Public Aff airs Manager cellations result in passengers requiring re- “This modifi ed version involves increas- with the Transportation Security Adminis- booking, and often lead to extensive delay in ing the tarmac time limit to 3.5 [hours] and tration. reaching their fi nal destinations.” only applying the rule to fl ights with planned TSA’s canine crime-busters haven’t spot- The tarmac rule was one of a number of departure times before 5 p.m.,” the author’s ted any real explosives, Ramos said. passenger protections that was put in place continued. But things are looking up for the belea- “Thank God,” she added. by the Obama administration in the presi- “Finally, in order to implement the Rule guered airport — at least for a certain group dent’s fi rst term in an eff ort to protect airline more eff ectively, we suggest the tarmac time of customers. In late 2014, American Ex- passengers. limit to be defi ned in terms of the time when TARMAC From Page 1 press opened its Centurion Lounge, a dras- Other rules include requirements that air- the aircraft begin returning to the gate in- tic departure from the often drab domestic lines refund baggage fees that are collected stead of being defi ned in terms of the time The study, conducted by Dartmouth lounges that populate most major airports for luggage that is lost and include fees in when passengers are allowed to deplane,” University, found that the Federal Aviation around the country. ticket price quotes that it provides to pas- they concluded. Administration’s 2010 Tarmac Delay Rule Located inside Terminal B (home to sengers. has fulfi lled its intended purpose of reduc- American, United, Southwest, Jet Blue, ing lengthy delays for airline passengers on STATE OF THE ART LOUNGE Air Canada, Spirit, and Frontier Airlines), airport tarmacs. But the rules have also lead Airlines have tried to convince the Centurion signaled a major upgrade in to an increase in the frequency of fl ight can- DEBUTS AT LAGUARDIA Congress to reverse the advertising New York’s LaGuardia Airport gets a culinary fare for LaGuardia’s domestic rest cellations as airlines try to avoid hefty fi nes rules. stops. Visitors are treated to a variety of fi ne for keeping passengers on planes that are not bad rap. It regularly appears on “America’s The authors of the study on fl ight cancel- worst airport” lists, and Vice President Joe dining options, specially paired wines, and able to take off , the study found. lations said the tarmac delay rule could be signature cocktails. “Comparing the actual fl ight schedule Biden once claimed it belonged in a “third- tweaked to reduce the amount of inconve- world country.” and delay data after the Tarmac Delay Rule See Airport News page 3 Airport Press airportpress.us Publisher: William R. Puckhaber Editor: Joe Alba Creative Director: Chris Thorn Reporter-Photographer, Asst. to Publisher, Office Manager: Diane D. Santos Travel & Dining Editor: Roberta Dunn Director of Sales: Ed Garcia ADVERTISING: Phone: (718) 244-6788 Email: [email protected] Information about subscriptions, advertising and editorial matter can be obtained from: AIRPORT PRESS, INC. P.O. Box 300879, JFK Airport Station, Jamaica, NY 11430-0879 The AIRPORT PRESS is published monthly by P.A.T.I. Inc. and is delivered to the executives and staff workers of all companies and organizations at the following airports: John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty Airports. AIRPORT PRESS readership survey and circulation independently audited and listed under classification 148 in SRDA. Phone (718) 244-6788. AIRPORT PRESS is printed 12 times yearly. Subscription rate is $52/year domestic. $100 overseas. Entire contents copyright 2008. Postmaster send address changes to AIRPORT PRESS, P.O. Box 300879, JFK Airport Station, Jamaica, NY 11430-0879. e-mails: AIRPORT PRESS [email protected] Pan American Training Institute [email protected] Pan American Training Institute New York: (718) 244-6789 IATA-Certified Dangerous Goods By Air Airport Press Metro Edition • February 2016 • 3 Airport News From Page 2 sions around the airport by 16% over fi ve SCREENING POSITIONS IN FLORIDA Like most airport lounges, access to the years. Centurion comes at a price. All American Heathrow’s cargo community has already Express card holders may drop in by buy- started to maximize effi ciencies by pooling Transportation Security Officers ing a $50 day pass.