Airport Check-in
Roger Yu, USA TODAY, 7/21/2008 and 7/28/2008 (excerpted)
FRESNO: Yosemite International ramps up solar power
Fresno Yosemite International has completed the installation of 11,700 solar panels on its property to generate clean electricity. Calling it the largest solar energy project at any U.S. airport, Fresno officials say the panels could provide up to 40% of the airport facilities' daily electrical needs. The panels, by New Jersey-based WorldWater & Solar Technologies, will deliver $13 million in energy cost savings in the next 20 years, the airport says.
The panels are installed on 9½ acres of land half a mile from the airport's entrance. The project cost $17 million.
WorldWater says it's working on a similar project for Denver International.
ST. LOUIS: Change is in the air at Lambert airport
St. Louis Lambert has a new website: FlySTL.com. Among the features on the redesigned site: local weather, lists of shops and restaurants, flight status for all arrivals and departures, construction updates and other airport news.
The airport also announced that it started a $17 million project this month to renovate its four domed ceilings, replace the baggage system and add roadway signs.
SEATTLE: In translation, on arrival
With international arrival traffic up 16% from 2007, Seattle-Tacoma has seen increasing demand for its phone translation service.
The airport's translation phones — equipped with two receivers for three-way conversation — are installed at all 22 immigration booths, plus in the main terminal and baggage-claim areas. California-based Language Line Services, which employs 3,000 translators for 170 languages, runs the service.
Immigration officials who interview arriving passengers use the service most frequently, says Sue Hansen-Smith, Sea-Tac's customer service manager. "I don't know what we'd do without it. It'd really slow down the (immigration clearing) process."
Korean is the most common language requested at the airport, followed by Mandarin, Khmer (Cambodian) and Vietnamese.
HOUSTON: These Texas rangers ride for the skies
Those horseback riders you may spot at George Bush Intercontinental aren't simply out for fun. In a unique approach to airport security, a group of volunteers known as the Airport Rangers has been patrolling airport grounds since 2003. About 500 active riders roam the 10,000-acre perimeter to alert airport officials of any suspicious or illegal activities. The volunteers also clear trails of debris and other foreign objects.
Volunteers must provide their own horse and must undergo a background check. Once approved, they can ride 25 miles of trails around the airport. "Having the Airport Rangers at Bush Intercontinental has worked for both horse lovers and (the airport). We get the extra level of security, and the volunteers have plenty of room to ride," says Rick Vacar, director of the Houston Airport System.
BOSTON: Tarmac material is first in USA to go green
Boston Logan says it will be the first U.S. airport to use environmentally friendly asphalt for repaving a runway.
The so-called warm mix asphalt is heated to between 250 and 275 degrees, up to 75 degrees less than is required for traditional "hot mix" asphalt.
"Warm mix uses 20% less energy to make, produces 20% fewer greenhouse emissions when applied, and allows us to use a higher percentage of recycled asphalt pavement in the final product," said Massport CEO Thomas Kinton in a statement.
The compound is already in use at European airports, but Boston Logan first tested it on a taxiway and other airfield areas before receiving permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to use it on a runway. If the asphalt performs as expected, the airport will likely use it for future paving projects.