Airport Check-in: Buses for Atlanta; O'Hare kiosks aid deaf
Roger Yu, USA TODAY, 8/6/2007 (excerpted)
ATLANTA: Buses to roll if gates busy
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, the world's busiest airport, is turning to large buses to help alleviate the problem of arriving planes having to wait for an open gate. It's spending $2.5 million to buy four buses that will be used to transport arriving passengers stuck in planes waiting for an available gate.
With the new plan, airlines can choose to have waiting planes taxi to another part of the airport where passengers can leave the plane by stairs. A bus will shuttle them to the terminal.
Local officials approved the project in July, and the buses will start roaming the tarmac later this month.
Buses can carry 80 people plus carry-on luggage.
In June, about 40 planes a day waited at least 30 minutes for gates to become available, spokesman Herschel Grangent says.
CHICAGO: Deaf, hard of hearing get video-phone access
Chicago O'Hare and Midway airports plan to install 11 videophones for the deaf or hard of hearing. Through a live sign-language translator, users can request airport services and receive tourist information. They can also call friends and relatives who have videophones.
The first kiosk will be installed later this month at O'Hare in Terminal 3 near gate K-1. Eight more kiosks will be installed at O'Hare in the upper and lower levels of the terminals and at the shuttle center. Midway will have two kiosks.
MINNEAPOLIS: Call ahead for parking
Passengers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International can obtain real-time airport parking availability information by logging onto www.mspairport.com/msp/parking/realtime.aspx. They can also send a text message to 444555 to schedule a return message about parking. They can also call 877-FLY-PARK.