Cuban athlete goes missing in Florida

The Cuban national judo team returned home Monday without one of its stars, whose weekend disappearance fuelled speculation that she is defecting.

Yurisel Laborde has twice been world champion and a 2004 Olympic bronze medallist and has not been seen since disappearing after competing in the Pan American Judo Championships and was not with the team when they left Miami International Airport.

More flights from Houston to Sarasota Airport in Florida

Continental Airlines is doubling its daily nonstop flights to and from Houston at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in Florida starting on 1st July 2008.

Continental will increase its flights between Houston and the Florida airport from once to twice daily in response to a strong and growing market demand in Texas and the West.

Special car hire rates at Florida Airports

National Car Rental is offering a range of weekly rental promotional deals from a number of US Airports including Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Fort Myers and Panama City Airport in Florida.

The least expensive weekly rentals start at only $144 for the entire period when the client can expect to receive either an economy class or compact car for this price. It is also possible to enjoy preferential rates over the weekend.

Huge repair bill for car hire garage at Fort Lauderdale Airport

Since it opened three years ago the rental car garage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has had a number of flooding and mould problems resulting in major repairs now being necessary.

Car rental agencies have had only limited use of their offices in the $247 million garage which allowed them to consolidate operations under one roof at Fort Lauderdalwe Airport, but the quick-turnaround area where drivers return cars on the first floor has remained open despite the problems.

Airport officials, contractors and architects last week reached a settlement to share the $1.7 million needed to pay for repairs and to stop the problem happening again pumps will be stalled to divert flood water.

New screening for airport workers

The Transportation Security Administration has started a 90 day test of enhanced methods for screening employees who work at seven US airports including Denver International, Logan International Airport in Boston, Kansas City International and Jacksonville International in Florida.

The three month pilot programme will evaluate the current biometric access-control process which uses fingerprints to verify an employee's identity. TSA also will increase the random physical screening of employees.

End of Allegiant flights from Wichita to Orlando

Allegiant Air has announced the end of its service from Wichita to Orlando Airport in Florida. The last day of operation will be on 7th July 2008.

The service has been operating since 22nd May 2007 and the cancelling of the service is mainly due to escalating fuel costs.

US airlines charge to take second bag on flights

Most US carriers began charging $25 this week for coach passengers who want to check a second bag on domestic flights — instead of allowing two checked bags for free. Six US airlines also are raising the cost of checking a third bag to $100. There are exceptions for first and business-class passengers and for those with certain types of mileage rewards. And some airlines will waive the fee for international travel
Each bag must weigh less than 50 pounds, and its dimensions (length plus width plus depth) must be less than 62 inches.

Southwest is the only major US carrier to allow travelers to continue to check two pieces of luggage without charge, but the cost for checking a third bag is now $25.

It is not uncommon to see passengers at US airport terminals trying to magically transform three carry-on bags into one. But it's not easy with a golf bag or skis!

Where are Americans travelling to ths summer?

With less money to spend almost two thirds of Americans are planning to stay in the US with almost half visiting family and friends, according to a joint survey by AOL Travel and Zogby International. The survey also said that more than half of Americans have some sort of cost-savings plan and booked their summer travel on the Internet.

Record high oil prices are threatening to ground millions of travellers and airline executives and aviation analysts say that only fare increases and cutbacks in flights will enable the industry to cover a 2008 jet fuel bill that could be 44% higher than last year's. By this time next year there could be 20% fewer seats available if airlines respond to oil prices in excess of $100 a barrel by cutting as many flights as some are predicting.

Sarasota Brandenton Airport offers incentives to international airlines

Sarasota Brandenton Airport in Florida has announced a plan to attract intercontinental carriers by offering $100,000 in marketing incentives, along with a six-figure waiver of customs costs and other items, to the first overseas airline that schedules weekly flights to SRQ.

The airport currently has no overseas carriers but feel this is an ideal time to lure one there with the dollar's exchange rate hovering at nearly $1.60 to one Euro, which means that foreign tourists' money will go further.

Southwest Fort Myers Airport handles over one million passengers in March

For the third time since it opened the Southwest Fort Myers Florida International Airport logged more than a million passengers through its doors in March.

The traffic leader for the month was AirTran with 144,393 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers, and the top five airlines were JetBlue (119,328), Delta (112,346), Northwest (95,442) and US Airways (94,457).

Continental Airlines to stop flying to Daytona Beach

Continental Airlines will no longer provide services to Daytona Beach Airport in Florida from September 2008.

They currently operate one daily flight, a Saturday round-trip flight to Newark, New Jersey and a seasonal Saturday flight to Cleveland.

Continental cites poor financial performance and the high cost of fuel incurring losses which make it unviable for them to maintain the service.

They have provided service to the area since 1988 and airport officials are trying to convince the longtime carrier to stay.